Byron Lee's Writing Blog

By Byron Lee


Handsome looks, a winning personality, charisma, passion, and smart decision making. Will Smith has utilized all of these attributes to reinvent himself from rapper to personality to box office attraction to respected actor.

In this issue of the Limelight, we will trace Will Smith's path to superstardom, spotlighting how his attributes have paved the way for his success.

Just the four of us: Three Generations of Big Willies...

Born on September 25, 1968 in West Philadelphia, the second of four children, Smith was told about the perils of not working hard and shown the rewards that come with a strong work ethic. In a testament to the values of his upbringing, the family unit remained tight even after Will's parents (His father installed refrigerators; His mother worked on a school board) divorced when he was 13.

Smith kept his nose to the grindstone in and out of the classroom. Smith was so charming in interactions with both students and faculty that he received the nickname "Prince." Smith worked so hard in the classroom that he was offered a full ride to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

However, Young Will, who was surrounded by music as a child, had other plans. He had found a passion for rap music and had started making tracks with DJ legend Jeff Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff, after meeting Townes at a party. Smith added "Fresh" to the nickname to form the moniker by which he would be known to the world.
Pioneering Hip Hop Icons DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

The duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince found much success with their seminal sophomore album, 1988's "He's The DJ, and I'm The Rapper." The song "Parents Just Don't Understand," a great example of the group's combination of humorous lyrics and funky beats, became a staple on music video stations and went on to win the first "Best Rap Performance" Grammy. Their next recording, 1989's "...And In This Corner" maintained their success, with the smash hit "I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson."

The duo, like contemporaries such as Young MC and Tone Loc, were accused by some of watering down the street edge of rap music. Their name became a punchline in some circles.

The criticism would only grow louder when, after making a connection with record executive Benny Medina at a television special, Smith agreed to star in a half-hour sitcom starring a character based on Medina who relocates to Beverly Hills to live with rich relatives.

Making Television History...

"The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" began airing on NBC in September of 1990 and was criticized by some for rehashing what some people viewed as tired stereotypes of the black bourgeoisie. Yet, thanks to a talented supporting cast, particularly James Avery as Uncle Phil and Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks, the show ingratiated itself to viewers. The show was so popular that a letter writing campaign convinced Smith to come back to the show after it's third season, even though he had planned to focus more on film and music; the show ended up running for three more seasons.

While his acting career was blossoming, he also kept himself grounded in his first love. 1991's "Homebase" featured the laid back, Kool and the Gang-sampling seasonal anthem "Summertime," which became the group's biggest hit to date. "Homebase" eventually went platinum.
Flipping The Script On The Homosexual Tip...

Ever looking for a challenge, Smith made it clear that he was committed to becoming better as an actor by appearing in a variety of roles. He made his big screen debut as a homeless paraplegic in the gritty ensemble piece "Where The Day Takes You." His next silver screen appearance, as a gay hustler in the 1993 film adaptation of the play "Six Degrees of Separation," was especially noteworthy. Although criticized for not committing to a gay kiss, Smith was praised for his nuanced portrayal. This role established that Will could play someone other than himself, silencing some of his detractors.

Bad Boys With Guns Will Travel..All The Way To The $Bank$...

His big breakthrough would come when he and fellow black sitcom star Martin Lawrence became aware of an action/comedy film project that had been abandoned by Saturday Night Live vets Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey. The project was "Bad Boys." The witty report of Lawrence and Smith, the visual assault of director Michael Bay and the popcorn movie aesthetic of the production team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, catapulted the film, budgeted at $20 Million, to a 65 million gross.

Will Smith All-American Hero:
"Independence Day"


"Bad Boys" began a string of hits (including "Independence Day" and "Men In Black") that made it clear to Hollywood that it wasn't just the action-packed set pieces that packed movie houses; it was Smith that brought people to the theater in droves.

Having achieved success in Hollywood, Will felt the itch to return to music. Initial announcements of this decision were met with skepticism, with fans worried that Smith was yet another performer who did not know when to hang it up. Deciding to perform under his given name, Smith released "Big Willie Style" in late 1997. Powered by the mass appeal of the Sister Sledge-sampling "Gettin' Jiggy With It" (a song that added a new word to the American lexicon), "Big Willie Style" went 10 times platinum.


At Last: Will And Jada

At this time, Smith also found happiness in his personal life. Smith, who had been divorced for two years from Sheree Smith (the relationship bore one child, Trey), started dating actress Jada Pinkett, best known for her roles on the television program "A Different World" and films such as "Set It Off" and "Jason's Lyric." The two married in December of 1997 and have two children together, Jaden and Willow. Will and Jada have become one of Hollywood's most popular couples because, despite having achieved great fame and wealth, they have a genuine approachability that has endured them to people of all races and classes. Will had attributed the strength of their marriage to being focused on, and dedicated to, each other. Said Smith in a 2005 People Magazine interview, "When you know what you want, where you're going, what you're doing, [the pressure of being a couple in the spotlight] becomes less difficult to manage. That's why we work."

It's Been A Long Time...Will Smith Repping On The Mic...

Even at the pinnacle of his professional and personal lives, accusations of being soft still dogged him. Even Eminem, someone who was, at the time, struggling to gain credibility in the rap community, felt comfortable going after Will in some admittedly funny bits during Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre" video and Shady's own mega hit "The Real Slim Shady." Smith has stayed true to himself, though, repeatedly stating that he has always wanted to make music "that my mother could listen to." (It was reportedly for this reason that Smith declined to figuratively "drop the bomb" on Eminem when Smith released the impressive CD "Lost and Found" in 2005.)

Having gained invaluable acting experience, Will now felt comfortable taking on the role of a lifetime, that of boxing legend and cultural icon Muhammad Ali. Smith trained physically and mentally for the part, gaining 35 pounds of muscle to match Ali's fighting weight.


Although "Ali" received mixed reviews, with many critics finding the movie to be bloated and unfocused, Smith was praised for showing Ali's depth, for refraining from doing an impersonation, and for having great chemistry with co-star Jon Voight, who portrayed Howard Cosell. Smith earned a Oscar nomination for his effort. (On the set of this movie, Will's work ethic would rub off on someone else: Smith helped Jamie Foxx get the role of Ali cornerman Bundini Brown in "Ali", and Foxx credits Smith with forcing him to be disciplined about his approach to playing Ray Charles.)


"Will Smith Is $Money In The Bank$: "Hitch" Made Box Office History..."

After filming successful, if perfunctory, sequels to "Bad Boys" and "Men In Black," Smith appeared as relationship coach Alex Hitchens in the comedy "Hitch." The film garnered praise for having more smarts than the average romantic comedy, and accolades for chemistry between Smith and sitcom star Kevin James. Released the weekend before Valentine's Day 2005, the film set the record for the highest weekend opening for a romantic comedy ($43 million) and went on to gross nearly $180 million.


Smith showed how far he had come, with regard to appeal, with "The Pursuit of Happyness," a loose adaptation of the life of Chris Gardner, a man who rose from homelessness to become a successful stock trader. While some critics found the film's trajectory overly familiar and difficult to sit through, Will was praised for his chemistry with son Jaden, who was cast as Gardner's son. The film became Smith's 6th number one debut in a row and, at press time, has grossed $160 million domestically. The film also garnered Smith his second Best Actor Oscar nomination. The fact that he took a story largely unknown to mainstream audiences (and chose director Gabriele Muccino, a filmmaker unknown to U.S. audiences, to helm the project) proves that he has cultivated enough good will with North American audiences that he can now get a film made and sold to audiences merely by attaching his name to it.

Although he has come a long way since "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," perhaps a quote from a 1990 interview with Vanity Fair best encapsulates his approach to life:


Will Smith has trusted his instincts, made his way to the top, and maintained his position. Hollywood, and our community, are much better for it.

A Limelight Exclusive
By Byron Lee

She is one of the most controversial figures in our community, the significance of her achievements overshadowed by her allegiance to a faltering, misguided regime. In this issue of the limelight, we explore the background of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Born on Nov. 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama, her father John, a pastor, and her mother Angelena, an organist and science teacher, instilled in Condoleezza (named after the Italian musical expression con dolcezza ("with sweetness")) both the idea that she was special and the idea that she would have to work much harder than others to ensure success..

Her parents took what may seem to some blacks as controversial measures en route to having the young girl fight oppression. Instead of getting involved in the marches of the time, The Rices, like many parents in Birmingham's black middle class Titusville subdivision, opted to take the child directly home from school, immersing Condi in a regimented schedule of school work and extracurricular activities. John Rice is said to have taken this approach in order to prepare his children for the future, saying to them, "Things will not always be this way." As Rice stated in a 1993 interview with the Chicago Tribune, "I remember it as a time when...my parents had to try to explain why we had to drive all the way to Washington D.C., before we could stay in a hotel. And they had to explain why I could not have a hamburger in a restaurant but I could be president anyway, which was the way they chose to handle the situation." (An additional, more visceral reminder of racism occurred on September 15, 1963, when four girls were killed in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, just down the street from John Rice's church. One of the girls killed was Denise McNair, a classmate of Rice's.)

In addition to helping their only daughter, The Rices were extremely progressive for their time. John organized college fairs through his church at a time when very few blacks considered college as an option. Furthermore, when Condi enrolled in school, her mother, dissatisfied with the second-hand books being used at the school, bought new textbooks for Condi's class. Condi sped through these books (she is still a speed reader today) and was soon tutoring her classmates.
In addition to classwork, Rice found another passion growing up: the piano. Her grandmother, tired of hearing the young girl bang on the keys, decided to teach her how to play. (Condoleezza claims that she learned how to read music before she learned how to read; She continues to play the piano to this day and, years later, astounded a piano teacher at Stanford with both her dedication and memorization skills.)


Rice skipped both the first and seventh grades and graduated from high school at the age of 15. She enrolled in Denver's Lamont School of Music (her father had become vice chancellor at the University of Denver and moved the family to Colorado during Condi's high school years). She felt intimidated by her classmates and changed her major to political science after taking an international politics course taught by Josef Korbel, the father of future Secretary of State Madeline Albright. The Washingtonian reports that, when her father warned her that, "Blacks don't make money in political science." Condi casually responded "Music either."



FOR THE BOYS (AND GIRLS)-Condoleezza Rice, along with other members of the Cabinet, greet our troops. Ms. Rice’s accomplishments have caused her to receive several e-mails and letters daily from young girls looking for inspiration.
Condoleezza became fascinated with Soviet politics and culture. She received a bachelors in International Relations in 1974, earned her masters in Economics at Notre Dame and earned her PhD in International Studies, with an emphasis in Soviet studies, in 1981 from the University of Stanford. This same year, she was awarded a fellowship and became an assistant professor of political science at the university. She was the only black woman on the faculty. (It was during her extensive studies that Rice had a political conversion; She voted for Jimmy Carter in 1976, but was disillusioned by Carter's handling of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.)

Rice would see a change in scenery when former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, remembering the way Rice discussed foreign policy at a dinner several years earlier, drafts her for several positions in the George H.W. Bush Administration, many concerning Soviet, European and national security affairs. She serves for an historical three years (during which the Berlin Wall fell, Germany became one once more, and Russia became a supporter of the U.S. in the Persian Gulf War) and returns to Stanford with a telling observation: "You go to Washington with whatever knowledge you have, and then you burn it down. The problem is that sometimes people stay beyond the time that they have any intellectual capital left," she told the Washingtonian.
Rice was chosen as Stanford University's Provost (chief financial and academic officer) in 1993, the youngest in the school's history. Her tenure is widely remembered for various reasons. She started a program to help eradicate the school's deficit and balance the institution's budget. She also earned practice being loyal to a polarizing figure, in this case university president Gerhard Casper. She was also derided for restructuring the undergraduate program, chiefly with regard to the multicultural studies component. (The situation came to a head with the dismissal of a popular chicana studies professor, which led some students to go on a hunger strike; She finally decided on an "Introduction to Humanities" curriculum that would incorporate the history of many cultures into the core of american history.) In support of the unification of the history program, Rice stated in an interview that, "If you're going to read and understand Frederick Douglass, then you'd better understand Thomas Jefferson, because that is who he was referencing."

BEST FACE FORWARD-Some say that Ms. Rice’s presence in the Cabinet has added a much needed humanity to our current administration.

George H.W. Bush, having struck a rapport with Rice during her time in his administration, invited her to Kennebunkport, Maine in 1998 to be George W. Bush's foreign policy coach. Rice and the younger Bush hit it off over sports and fishing. She joined Bush's campaign and became national security adviser after the 2000 election. (According to the Washingtonian, John Rice, in the hospital with stokelike symptoms, saw his daughter sworn in via television; he died six days later on Christmas Eve. (Her mother Angelena died in 1984.)

After the resignation of Colin Powell, Rice was weary about taking the Secretary of State job, due to her perceived lack of qualifications for the position and fatigue after the draining re-election campaign. The second term president, however, talked her into it. As the body count for the Iraqi War rises and our country breaks free from the ideological stranglehold employed by pro-war forces after the 9/11 attacks, Rice faces a great deal of adversity. Her trip to New York during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was deemed by many to be horribly insensitive. (She reportedly shopped for shoes and was booed when she took her seat during a performance of the Monty Python musical "Spamalot.") Ms. Rice has not been helped by the perception that she replaced someone thought to have left The Bush Administration chiefly because he was tired of being the lone dissenter in the cabinet.
Regarding her future plans, Rice has kicked around the idea of being commissioner for the National Football League. (Her office finds a portrait of War general/Secretary of State George Marshall sharing space with Cleveland Browns memorabilia.) Many, however, believe that she will make her way back westward, due to her personal and professional roots there. As far as her personal life is concerned, Rice, who dated football players in college, claims that she is too busy to maintain a relationship.


NewsMaker And NewsMan- Condi with George Curry.

Wherever she goes, and whatever we think of her allegiances, Condoleezza Rice is someone who has, and will continue to, leave her mark on history.

A Limelight Exclusive

By Byron Lee

"The real record I have set for over 50 years is the fact that I have had one job and one wife."

A LASTING LOVE-Eddie with Doris, his wife of 67 years.
This quote perfectly encapsulates the philosophy of late coaching legend Eddie Robinson. The statement, referenced in a recent retrospective article by the Associated Press, has clear implications of passion and loyalty that no doubt were the foundation of his legacy.

He is one of the most victorious coaches in college football history. He gained immense respect from those outside of his community. For this edition of the limelight, we will profile former Grambling Football Coach Eddie Robinson.
As he grew up, Robinson, born February 12, 1919 in Jackson Louisiana, became known as someone who would put his nose to the grindstone. Raised by a sharecropper dad and a domestic worker mom who divorced when he was ten, he credited his maternal grandfather for instilling that value in him. During his youth in Baton Rouge, he worked as a shoe shiner and as a newspaper distributor.

Even before his high school years, Eddie believed that he had found his calling. He would watch the McKinley High School Football team practice under coach Julius Kraft. "I saw the way they were calling him 'sir' and 'coach,' the way he built his players up," Robinson said in a 1985 interview with the New York Times. "And he had a mean streak in him. He'd smile, then he'd stop smiling and you knew it was time to win. I was drawn to that."

IN COMMAND-Robinson surveys the field.
He was a star player a few years later, when he attended McKinley, and he was equally impressive at Leland College (which was later incorporated into Southern University.) During his time at Leland, Robinson came closer to his dream when Baptist preacher Reuben Turner, Robinson’s coach, familiarized the young man with the act of calling plays.

After graduation, Robinson got married. Soon to be a father, he worked in a feed mill and on an ice wagon to make ends meet. "He was always working," said Doris, his wife of 67 years, "and he was so serious…about everything he did."

In addition to all of his hard work, a connection, a chance at opportunity, was essential in Robinson getting the job that would change his life forever. "My wife Doris's sister knew the family of the Grambling president, Dr. Ralph W. E. Jones," he told Sports Illustrated in 1985. "That's how I got to meet him, and that's how I got the job.” Robinson showed the gratitude of a man wise enough to know that no one truly makes it without the help of others. “I don't know what would have happened to me if Dr. Jones hadn't hired me," he continued. "That man made more of an impact on me than anyone except my father."

Coach Robinson had to do much more than coach football in the beginning; he presided over the school's athletic department, tended to the football field, and even coached Grambling's basketball team.

During WWII, Robinson, like many coaches, experienced a phenomenon that could have wrecked many programs: he lost many players to military service. Instead of letting the program, and himself, lie dormant, he coached the Grambling High School team and won the championship. (He claims that he got the team used to working hard by having them pick cotton for his father.) He also used the rebuilding time wisely, watching black high schools for prospects. When his older players came back from combat and joined the crop of new players, the time was ripe to compete successfully. It is apropos that during this period the team's intuition ceased being the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute and became simply, and powerfully, Grambling College.

The program would gain much of its early national coverage through the ascension of running back Paul "Tank" Younger. The team had triumphant seasons during Younger’s time there (1945-1948) and, in 1948, Younger became the first black player from an all-black college to be drafted by an NFL team (The Los Angeles Rams). Other players such as Ernie Ladd, Willie Davis, and James Harris also made it to the pros.

LEADING A POWERHOUSE-Through Robinson's shrewd marketing, Grambling's greatest was recognized by the nation.
The program would continue to thrive during the 50’s, holding their own against respected black college powers and getting more attention after soundly beating Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic following the 1955 season. They were recognized in a major way in 1958, when they were allowed entry into the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Robinson’s competitors were dumbfounded, mainly due to the fact that the coach used a simple plan of attack. "Eddie doesn't try to fool you," Marino Casem, the head coach at Alcorn State, told the Times in 1985. "He'll run four basic plays and four basic pass patterns. You don't know when they're coming and sometimes when you do, ain't a damn thing you can do about it. He believes in doing it right and doing it over and over and over again."

Wisely realizing that the team's prospects for widespread national attention were limited by its location, Robinson started touring the team in 1968 and kicked publicity for the team into overdrive. The documentary “Grambling College: 100 Yards To Glory” (co-produced by Howard Cosell) was filmed, and the three major networks started giving the team, and their school, exposure. The following year, the team played before nearly 300,000 paying customers in 11 games.



ONLY ONE HOME-Robinson repeatedly stated that he could never leave Grambling.
Robinson seemed especially moved by an occurrence that happened a few years later: the team played a regular season game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Robinson said that he remembered “when blacks couldn't even sit in the Sugar Bowl."

Wanting some of the coach’s success to rub off on their programs, many southern white schools started showing interest in black players, limiting Robinson’s talent pool. Eddie reacted with the mix of pragmatism and tenacity for which he was known. "The way it is today is the way it should be...Blacks [have] made progress and the only way to do that is to understand the system,” he told the Washington Post in 1983, “The whites put the system together. So adapt to it…Get under the American flag and go to work, boys. Go to work." He has also stated that once he claimed an American identity, he realized that there were "no excuses--no excuses for failure."

The rewards that come with hard work were soon distinctly quantified. Robinson earned his 300th college victory in 1982 and became the winningest coach in college football history in 1985, getting his 324th win against Prairie View. (Robinson remained the most victorious college coach until John Gagliardi of St. John's replaced him in 2003.) The program went on to win nine national black college championships and 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles.
Despite the success of his program, Robinson was still all-too-aware of the stereotypes that were still prevalent in society. He spoke to this reality at a luncheon in 1974, saying "Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I say we do have things to prove. I say we have to prove we're articulate; we have to prove we don't steal towels from hotels; we have to prove we can eat. I just talk from experience. I still know black players who won't eat at hotels because they don't know how to eat."

Robinson had much affection for his players and their institution. This feeling was best exemplified when Robinson was offered an assistant coaching position with the Los Angeles Rams in 1977. Robinson told the Washington Post in 1983, "Money never could buy me happiness. I thought about all those years at Grambling, about my friends here in town and my family and all the hard work I'd put into this school...There was no way I'd leave Grambling. It was always like being at one big picnic."

The program fell on hard times during the mid 90's, with the team winning only 3 wins in Robinson’s final season in 1997 and facing various off-field allegations. Reportedly being influenced by boosters, Grambling relieved Robinson of his duties and replaced him with former pupil, and Super Bowl XXII MVP, Doug Williams. Robinson was informed soon after that he had Alzheimer’s.

A BELOVED FIGURE-Robinson became a cherished presence both on Grambling's campus and in his players' lives.
Robinson ended his 57 year career with a record of 408-165-15. To hear him tell it, the program's success was due to one ingredient. "Coaching is a profession of love," he said,”You can't coach people unless you love them." Everson Walls, who played for Robinson in the 70s and went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys, said, quoted for the Times piece, that they "didn't have the best conditions, and Coach Robinson knew that, but said that, in the long run, this is one of the best things we could go through, because we'd have to face less than ideal situations in the real world." Doug Williams, speaking with the Times, said that Robinson "could build you up and make you feel like you could do anything. He never told us that life was unfair and that we'd have to be ready for it. He always told us that this was America, and we could be anything we wanted to be." Paul Younger told Sport Illustrated in 1983 that, "Because of Eddie's rules and regulations, the average guy you see from Grambling is a pretty good person."

He showed his love for his players by teaching etiquette and helping his players get jobs after graduation; Robinson's players have responded in kind. The players speak of him with great respect and, in his final years, many of them frequently visited him at his home.

IN TWILIGHT-In 1997, Robinson was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
The public was highly reverential as well. After his death, he was only the fifth person to lie in repose at the Louisiana state capitol.

It is rare that a human being receive such accolades. In this and other ways, Eddie Robinson was a very fortunate man. Judging by the words and actions of his life, he was fully aware of it.