{"id":42690,"date":"2026-08-13T07:44:43","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42690"},"modified":"2026-08-13T07:44:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:44:43","slug":"phylicia-rashad-discusses-her-legacy-at-mvaaff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=42690","title":{"rendered":"Phylicia Rashad Discusses Her Legacy at MVAAFF"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLegendary actress, director and producer <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/phylicia-rashad\/\" id=\"auto-tag_phylicia-rashad\" data-tag=\"phylicia-rashad\">Phylicia Rashad<\/a> was the guest speaker at the C-Suite Luncheon during the 24th annual Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival (<a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/t\/mvaaff\/\" id=\"auto-tag_mvaaff\" data-tag=\"mvaaff\">MVAAFF<\/a>). Started by Stephanie Tavares-Rance, who co-founded MVAAFF along with her husband, Floyd Rance, the luncheon and its accompanying summit uplifts, supports and connects executives, business owners and women leaders of color.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThis year\u2019s luncheon, sponsored by AARP, focused on Rashad\u2019s legacy \u2014 from \u201cThe Cosby Show\u201d to more recent roles in \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d and the \u201cCreed\u201d movies \u2014 and the new study from AARP\u2019s Movies for Grownups, \u201cBridging the Gap: The Path to More Authentic Portrayals of Black Adults in Movies and TV.\u201d According to the study, Black adults attend movies and consume television and streaming content at higher rates than the general U.S. population. Moreover, the study found that <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aarp.org\/pri\/topics\/social-leisure\/activities-interests\/african-american-black-age-diversity-movies-television\/?CMP=RDRCT-PRI-ENT\" target=\"_blank\">audiences see older Black women as influential cultural figures<\/a>, and when they are showcased on television, viewers feel more positive about aging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWhen asked about her legacy, Rashad mentioned those closest to her. \u201cMy mother. My father, my grandparents, the communities in which they were born, and I was privileged to know as a child \u2014 that\u2019s what I think about when I hear about legacy, because that\u2019s what flows through,\u201d she told AARP\u2019s CEO, Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tLooking ahead, Rashad also explained how legacy continues. \u201cIt\u2019s something that we become very conscious of. Something that we speak of consciously together. Something we now consciously convey to our young people,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s really about the way we live. About the way we interact with each other. The way we hold ourselves, think of ourselves \u2014\u00a0this is what creates legacy. When it came time to play Lena Younger [in \u201cA Raisin in the Sun\u201d], I understood who the woman was. She was not a piece of furniture with a wig on it. She was a woman who knew how to grow things. And I knew that from my greater family. I am so proud of the legacy that has been handed to me. I am so proud of this heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tThough Rashad is perhaps best known for her role as the iconic Clair Huxtable in \u201cThe Cosby Show,\u201d she is currently acting in HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d and Paramount+\u2019s \u201cDiarra From Detroit.\u201d The Emmy-nominated actress also recently directed the Tony-winning Broadway play, \u201cPurpose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\t\u201cI love getting a script and going back into history,\u201d she said. \u201cI love learning because I\u2019m looking at humanity and saying, \u2018OK. We\u2019ve done this a few times now. Let\u2019s get it right now. Let\u2019s get it right.\u2019 And especially right now, being a human being is so important. I look for the humanity in every world.\u00a0I\u2019m not considering anything else, and I\u2019m not thinking anything else. This is what my mother taught me. This for me is freedom. I am not circumscribed by anyone else\u2019s idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tWhen asked how she feels about roles and shows that don\u2019t acurately depict the Black experience she added,  \u201cAnd if there\u2019s something on television that I don\u2019t like, I simply don\u2019t watch it.\u201c<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto  lrv-a-font-body-m   \">\n\tReflecting on her extensive career, Rashad is most proud of the way her work highlights our collective humanity. Whether it\u2019s \u201cMa Pop, Aunt Esther, Clair Huxtable or whoever,\u201d Rashad said, \u201cI want my work, more than anything else, to demonstrate that as human beings, we are much more alike than we could ever be different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legendary actress, director and producer Phylicia Rashad was the guest speaker at the C-Suite Luncheon during the 24th annual Martha\u2019s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF). Started by Stephanie Tavares-Rance, who co-founded MVAAFF along with her husband, Floyd Rance, the luncheon and its accompanying summit uplifts, supports and connects executives, business owners and women leaders&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/variety.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2219855476.jpg?crop=238px%2C238px%2C2834px%2C1593px&resize=1000%2C563","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}