Houston-born, activist/actor Kendrick Sampson is passionate. Sampson is best known for his role in Insecure HBO, How to Get Away With Murder, co-starring in the film Miss Juneteenth with Nicole Beharie, and his involvement in BLD PWR, an organization working in the intersection of grassroots and narrative activism. On a Thursday evening, Sampson calls in from his home in Los Angeles and he sounds excited but exhausted. Tiffany: How are you taking care of yourself these days? Kendrick Sampson: (laughs) I’m trying to figure out how to take care of myself. We’ve been in crisis mode- compounded crisis: COVID-19, economic crisis, health crisis, the ongoing crisis of police violence and murder, and trash leadership. All this stuff weighs down and it’s a very stressful time for everybody. Amid a looming presence of an ongoing global pandemic, unemployment at the highest level since the Great Depression, and demonstrators across the country gathering to stand against racial injustice and demand change. Sampson can be seen in the midst of it all- on the frontlines of the Los Angeles protest demanding immediate action to stop racist 32 policing. After a video surfaced of him being shot by rubber bullets and attacked by LAPD at a peaceful protest the question bears, “How are you coping with all of this?”, “How are you maintaining your sanity?”
Kendrick Sampson: The best I can do is eat properly and nourish myself. I try to get some sun to help my melanin out (laughs). Fresh air, if I can get it in Los Angeles. I go to therapy once a week- I should be going twice but my schedule is intense and all over the place. The good thing is that we get to organize in community. The way that Black Lives MatterLos Angeles does it, they start out with libations and letting the family of the ones that have been murdered by at the hands of police speak and talk about the solutions. We then close out with Assata Shakur for healing. There is some catharsis around that- the fight ain’t over and it’s intense. I also have the privilege and honor to work on beautiful Black projects like Insecure and Miss Juneteenth and that has provided some healing to folks, which have been encouraging as well. It’s complicated, I’m not going to lie, I haven’t gotten any sleep. I’m doing the best I can to be conscious of how I operate and take it day-by-day.
Tiffany: Your character, Nathan, on HBO Insecure Season 4 is vocal about his mental health and is vulnerable with Issa about how he suffers from being bipolar. Why is it important for characters like Nathan to exist? Kendrick Sampson: Hollywood has had a very damaging effect on Black folks. There have been a lot of anti-Black narratives. For the most part, the people that control our stories in Hollywood are allwhite. The more that we control our narratives the better. In addition to the glorified police violence and anti-blackness that is often seen in Hollywood, they also portray mental health as violent and sensationalized or the big ominous, foreboding moment when someone reveals that they suffer from some type of mental illness. Usually, it’s paired with a crime. [Hollywood] criminalizes mental health and our trauma. Coupled with the history of this country, never having any mental health infrastructure. Prisons have been our biggest mental health institutions especially for Black folks which in reality just makes us worse. It’s necessary to have a regular-degular, Black man from Texas with a regular-ass bi-polar disorder live and be human. It’s so important! So often we don’t get to play those characters. I was honored to play him and be a part of that especially because he is from my hometown, H-town.
Tiffany: What do you want people to take away from Issa and Nathan's relationship with regards to mental health? Kendrick Sampson: It’s so layered. I have mental health issues and have pretty severe anxiety. My brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder which at a time was often misdiagnosed. Many of my family members have varying mental health disorders. To talk to them about their mental illnesses depending on the person you are talking to, can be a completely different type of experience. You saw Nathan try to communicate what was going on last season (HBO’s Insecure Season 3) but was rejected by Issa due to Issa being hurt and dealing with her own mental health struggle. Although she wasn’t dealing with a bipolar disorder, she is dealing with the trauma of friendships, relationships, career, and many other things. She only has so much capacity!
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