Williams teamed up with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for the "Every Child Thrives" campaign.
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00:00 As artists, we have a responsibility to be very cognizant
00:05 of the worlds that we create when we write stories
00:09 and when we kind of put narratives out there,
00:12 because we know it for a fact
00:14 that people can start seeing a world differently
00:17 or the world they wanna create
00:18 once they see it presented to them.
00:20 (upbeat music)
00:23 - Hi, I'm Raina Reid-Rayford,
00:26 a contributing news editor here at Essence Magazine.
00:28 I am so excited to be here talking to acclaimed actor,
00:32 Tyler James Williams about education.
00:35 So jumping right in, I actually taught ninth grade math
00:38 at Strawberry Mansion High School
00:39 in Philadelphia for two years.
00:41 So if you had gotten into education,
00:43 what subject and grade level would you want to teach?
00:46 - I've actually had this question come up before.
00:51 The first time it really shocked me
00:52 'cause I'd never even like considered it.
00:55 But I would say like seventh or eighth grade history.
01:00 I think at the end of the day,
01:03 I like telling stories and like history
01:05 is just really one big story.
01:07 And at that age, I feel like they can really
01:09 kind of get involved in it.
01:11 - Facts.
01:12 So did you have any black male teachers
01:15 when you were growing up
01:15 and why do you think that's important?
01:18 - I didn't, I didn't have any.
01:20 And I don't think I even really realized it
01:23 until now, until like this time in my life.
01:28 And it is important, I don't think I really saw somebody
01:33 in the educational process
01:35 kind of pouring into me from a perspective
01:40 that I could relate to.
01:41 I always saw like education as something that was
01:44 a relationship between somebody outside of your community,
01:47 somebody outside of people who kind of knew you intimately.
01:52 And I think that's one of the reasons why so many people
01:55 grow up feeling disconnected from the educational system
01:58 and educational pipeline.
01:59 - So every day, black people are often underrepresented
02:03 in the media.
02:04 How can entertainment be used to shift the narratives
02:07 of who teachers and caregivers are?
02:10 - First and foremost, as artists,
02:13 we have a responsibility to be very cognizant
02:16 of the worlds that we create when we write stories
02:19 and when we kind of put narratives out there.
02:22 Because we know it for a fact that people can start seeing
02:27 a world differently or the world they wanna create
02:29 once they see it presented to them.
02:31 That's what representation is.
02:33 So it is very important.
02:36 And I think also, I think we need to remember
02:40 that it's not just our job to present those stories,
02:43 but to make the art meet the action.
02:46 And that's why this partnership I've had
02:49 with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has been so important
02:52 is because I don't wanna just present an idea
02:56 of what could be.
02:59 I also wanna show you the real stories
03:00 of what's happening with people on the ground.
03:02 There are people who are actually cultivating this life
03:04 in the world that we're trying to head toward.
03:07 And we need to uplift them as well
03:09 as the fictional characters.
03:11 - Piggybacking off of the Kellogg Foundation,
03:14 you're a part of this great campaign.
03:15 Celebrating a variety of people
03:17 who are investing in children's development.
03:20 So were there role models in your life
03:22 outside of family who helped you as you grew up?
03:26 - Okay, that's another hard one.
03:28 I can't, you know, outside of family,
03:31 it's really hard for me to like nail that down.
03:33 There were people, you know, over the course of my career
03:38 and I had, you know, studio teachers
03:40 that, you know, worked really well with me.
03:42 But again, these are like these smaller moments
03:45 or, you know, people that were fewer and far between.
03:50 I wish it was more.
03:51 I wish I would have seen and had these kind of bigger impacts
03:56 and influences on me,
03:58 not just from an educational point of view,
03:59 but from an educational point of view
04:02 as it regards to the community as well.
04:05 But yeah, there were definitely people, you know,
04:08 along the way.
04:09 And I don't know who I'd be without them.
04:13 I just, you know, wish that there were more of them.
04:16 And I think that that's what we're trying to do here.
04:18 - Thank you so much, Tyler, for joining us.
04:21 And thank you, Essence, for tuning in.
04:23 (upbeat music)
04:26 (upbeat music)