Phylicia Rashad: The Mother of The Black Community

Best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the Cosby Show, Phylica Rashad has been dubbed “The Mother of The Black Community.” This Superwoman has done it all. She is a singer, actress, stage director, and now the Dean of Fine Arts at Howard University.

Ms. Rashad’s career has spanned over 40 years in stage, television, and film. In 2004, she became the first black actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, which she won for her role in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun. Some of her other Broadway credits include: Into the Woods, Jelly’s Last Jam, Gem of the Ocean, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She has won an NAACP Image Award for reprising her role in the 2008 television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun. Some of her film credits include For Colored Girls, Jingle Jangle, Polly, Polly: Comin’ Home, Creed, Creed II, Good Deeds just to name a few. She has recently taken part in the Alpha Kappa Alpha documentary Twenty Pearls.

Rashad studied at Howard University (HU!), graduating magna cum laude (beauty and brains) in 1970 with a Bachelors in Fine Arts degree. While there, she

became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. She later returned to the university where she was a theater professor. One of her most famous students was Chadwick Boseman. Phylicia will be returning to Howard University as the Dean of Fine Arts. (I think I need to go ahead and apply.)

She is the epitome of grace, posise, and class. From the way she carries herself, the characters she portrays, and interviews she participates in, she is the gold standard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RppgmPQnSNc