Zuri Adele is our Star on The Rise

Cox: Zuri, you play Malika in Good Trouble. She is such a multifaceted and layered character. How does it feel playing her?

Adele: It feels really amazing. It’s like I have a soulmate in her because I relate to her so much. Like me, she is passionate about collective liberation and Black liberation, a self-starter, and pursues her continued education. Even her love life and relationship styles reflect my own curiosities. I see myself in Malika, and I know others do, too, making it a more grounding experience to portray her.

Adele (contin): Malika goes on these crazy emotional rollercoaster rides, which are great. But because I can identify with her on multiple levels, I have to remind myself what’s mine and what’s Malika’s in terms of emotions.

Cox: Speaking of the complexities, Malika challenges how we see Black women on television with her fluid sexuality and non-conforming when it comes to traditional relationship structures.

Adele: I love that about her. These are conversation topics our generation is having right now, questioning the status quo. What she is portraying is something I feel is a tool for us to start asking those questions. It’s happening outside the textbooks, and people now have them in their living rooms and dining tables. With Malika, you see her living unapologetically, and you can ask yourself, what does my authentic life look like?

Adele (contin): There is something very liberating and vulnerable with Malika and her choices regarding her sexuality and relationship dynamics. It makes me even look at life even more with a clearer focus on what I want without judgment.

Cox: I’m in love with Malika, but there is something special about Good Trouble that draws us all in.

Adele: My friend told me he thinks what makes this show special is that it is a lot like a millennial version of Sesame Street. At first I didn’t think that was a compliment until I realized what they were saying. In this show, so many people feel seen. There is this safe space the show brings to the viewers because you get to not just identify with different characters, you get to see and learn their backstories. You get to learn from them and become an ally.

Adele(contin): The writers of the show write with such great intention. Through the fun and drama that happens on the series you get to see the clear center around justice and collective liberation. This naturally pulls people in with great intentions to watch this show.

Cox: Now that we have covered Malika and Good Trouble, I want to learn about Zuri, the actress. Where did this love for it stem?

Adele: I grew up in a creative household. My family is very expressive. My mom and aunts would dance in African drum circles. I remember when my dad would write poetry and perform it for us. He wrote a short film and had me play a role as a kid. I was three years old in this environment in my house where we were shooting a short film with my whole family involved.

Adele (contin): Then I found myself writing poetry. I just had been drawn to it all and found it to be an enjoyable way for me to express and learn about the world.

Cox: You are very spiritual. How did you connect your spirituality with your love for acting?

Adele: It came from me studying acting at Spelman College. We approached learning about theater from this sacred place of ritual and storytelling. This experience really exposed me to storytelling throughout the African diaspora as part of African history.

Adele (contin): I have been taking drama elective classes from kindergarten to High School, and it wasn’t until I studied at Spelman that I found the connection between this spiritual place of the theater and my ancestry. This was when it became non-negotiable for me to prioritize my spirituality.

Cox: Before we end, I would like to learn more about your experience at an HBCU like Spelman. Because of this, you have created the Zuri Adele Fellowship for Historically Black College and University Alumni at UCLA’s TFT.

Adele: I know 100% for sure that going to Spelman (a HBCU) was the best decision I’ve ever made in my entire life. Every blessing I have received after making this decision can be linked back to that. At an HBCU there is a sense of self-empowerment. You learn about the history that precedes slavery. We get to learn about the mathematical, artistic, and scientific innovations that happened in Africa.

Adele(contin): It’s being in a room full of people of Acknowledged African Descent learning about different subject matters like robotics, theater, pre-laws, and even foreign languages like Chinese. Learning about our craft and ourselves in this space is profoundly empowering. HBCUs give us our own Wakanda to experience so that when we enter the working world, we can be our true selves. We can then operate in this world from the most powerful version of ourselves.

Cox: Looks like I have a few minutes left. If you can give a younger Zuri advice, what would that be?

Adele: I would tell her to trust her instincts and keep going. We’re moving from glory to glory. This means that even when you have those feelings of discomfort, anxiety, and fear when you are making those big leaps of faith are only temporary. There is nothing like what’s on the other side of glory waiting for you.

Credits

Photographer: Tayo Kuku Jr.

Hair: Veda Nelms

Makeup: Eliven Quiros

Styling: Laura Farris Schuffman