American actress and model, Yara Shahidi was lensed by famous celebrity photographer, Petra Collins in a new interview debut for i-D where the cute young-star opened up on activism and acting saying she’s really into history and many more.
The star of “Black-ish,” Yara Shahidi is a voraciously intelligent teenager who is consistently using her platform to champion feminism and diversity. In her interview she said ‘I think there are many things that have caused this renaissance of on screen diversity and broadened the definition of the word. I think the Obama effect is one. You see the barrier being broken of who can be defined as presidential, and who is president — it shows that anything is possible.
It’s time for this change; we’re such a diverse community and we need TV to reflect our country’s diversity. No one wants to watch a show that’s afraid to talk about what’s actually going on in the world, so the networks have to support these storytellers and support these narratives.’
She also continued saying ‘When it comes to my personal politics and beliefs and why they’ve been so central to how I manoeuvre through the world, I think that definitely stems from my family and how I’ve been raised. I’m really into history and understanding past political movements, learning about those people who’ve made my literal existence possible, who have paved the way for me to thrive within the world. It wasn’t by accident that I am living here and living freely. There are so many movements and moments and monumental things that have happened in our world that have allowed for our collective identity to expand. We need to continue to push ourselves to be more inclusive and understanding of all people.’
As an actor she said ‘I think my role is to contribute to the world at large. Whether it’s starting conversations or bringing a story to life that hasn’t been told before, I believe actors can create a narrative that helps many people not only relate to what we’re talking about, but really understand the humanity behind the story that we’re telling. If you want to change people’s minds about the political issues you care about, you need to have something human for them to understand.
If you just explain the theory, or the economic impact, then many won’t understand the human element of how policy impacts people. As actors we have the ability to tell those stories in a way that isn’t discussed in the news.’
Yara was dressed by Jimi Urquiaga in different fashion pieces from Preen By Thornton Bregazzi, Kym Ellery and many more collections. She also had her stunning makeup done by Emily Cheng with her beautiful natural-hair goals styled by Marcia Hamilton.
Credit: i-D
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