Event 1: An Evening With Sheryl Lee Ralph

An Evening With Sheryl Lee Ralph

                On March 1, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.; I got the privilege to sit in the audience and listen to the beautiful and talented actress Sheryl Lee Ralph talk. Everything she said was very powerful and I am glad that I had the privilege to hear her speak. She started off talking about how our ancestors went through so much, from being beat, and lynched, and raped. Then continued by reminding us that African Americans would have their tongues cut out, or their hands cut off for trying to read or for even picking up a book. The generation today drop out of school, begin experimenting with sex, drugs, alcohol; get pregnant, contract an STD, etc. It is as if we are spitting in the faces of our ancestors, because they were killed for trying to do what we have a privilege of doing; which is going to school and getting an education. We as African Americans must prove the people who have no faith in us wrong. A lot of people look at African Americans as a statistic; meaning, African Americans cause the most crime, are the ones who are in prison, are the ones who have children and cannot support them; we must make a better name for ourselves.

                Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Connecticut to an African American father and a Jamaican mother. In 1973, she was crowned Miss Black Teen-age New York. She was only 16 when she graduated from high school, and 19 when she graduated from Rutgers University; making her the youngest female to ever graduate from Rutgers. She originally hoped to study medicine, but after dealing with some rude and disrespectful students in class and winning a scholarship in a competition at the American College Theater Festival, she quit studying medicine for the performing arts. In 1982, she began her career and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls. In 1988, she starred in the Disney film Oliver & Company providing the speaking voice of Rita. Her first leading role was as Denzel Washington's wife in The Mighty Quinn. Ralph produced Divas Simply Singing, which has become an important AIDS fundraiser. In June 2000, Ralph sued The National Enquirer for one million dollars over a piece they had written about her and her husband. She was voted one of TV's Favorite Moms for her portrayal of step mom Dee on the number-one rated television series Moesha. In 2004, she was inducted as an honorary member of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta, at the 47th National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. In May 2008, Ralph was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Tougaloo College after giving the commencement address. On June 16, 2009 it was announced that Ralph would join the cast of the Broadway-bound musical The First Wives Club as Elyse. She replaced Adriane Lenox, who withdrew from the show due to health concerns. She is married to Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes, and has two children Etienne, who was featured on BET's Baldwin Hills; and Ivy-Victoria, who is named after Sheryl's mother.