Yara Shahidi has been outspoken about social issues since she was a teenager starring on a major network sitcom.
But the Harvard University student believes that sometimes the best use of her platform is to amplify the voice of someone else.
The 20-year-old was featured in the August digital issue of Elle magazine which was accompanied by a backyard photo shoot featuring herself in retro-inspired looks.
Stunning: Yara Shahidi was featured in the August digital issue of Elle magazine which was accompanied by a backyard photo shoot featuring herself in retro-inspired looks
In the article written by Kaitlyn Greenidge, Yara talked about her place as a celebrity activist in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement coming off the heels of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, and several others.
As at times the movement feels unrelenting, Shahidi opts to take a more positive approach as she explained: ‘Joy is increasingly important to me…. Yes, this is a fight in the face of Black death.
‘[But] there has to be a celebration of Black life. We have to be viewing this moment as a preservation of Black life. A fight for our willingness to thrive, or a fight for our willingness to be happy and unencumbered. A fight for our ability to just be allowed to exist. And so often that’s been taken away. We should be allowed to heal, be allowed to revel in our happiness.’
Taking a stand: In the article written by Kaitlyn Greenidge, 20-year-old Yara talked about her place as a celebrity activist in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement coming off the heels of the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, and several others
‘Joy is increasingly important to me’: As at times the movement feels unrelenting, Shahidi opts to take a more positive approach
Despite only being 20 years old, she has been in the limelight since her early teens in the midst of two cultural movements – Black Lives Matter and #MeToo – and was complimented for commentary on tough issues including brutality race and class.
She said: ‘At the age of 14, I was asked how I felt about these topics. If it weren’t for my [role in] media, I don’t know if that is something they would have even asked a 14-year-old.’
As she has become a veteran in the media and tackled such complicated issues in such a nuanced way, Yara believes that the label ‘activist’ was pinned on her but pushes back on that notion.
Veteran: Despite only being 20 years old, she has been in the limelight since her early teens in the midst of two cultural movements – Black Lives Matter and #MeToo – and was complimented for commentary on tough issues including brutality race and class.
The actress said: ‘I remember having to clarify time and time again that there are people doing incredible work who should be supported. I choose to be as socially engaged as I possibly can.
‘But when we push people into this activist space, we need to really interrogate what we expect from public figures. And when we’re endowing them with this voice, what is the conversation that we want them to have?’
More recently she has found that perhaps the best role that she has in the movement is to use her platform to amplify the voice’s of others.
Yara explained: ‘When I’m looking at this moment at large there is this kind of double-edged sword of wanting people to speak up and then [thinking that they’re] not speaking up the right way. It’s something that I’m personally even conflicted about.
‘I choose to be as socially as engaged as I possibly can’: As she has become a veteran in the media and tackled such complicated issues in such a nuanced way, Yara believes that the label ‘activist’ was pinned on her but pushes back on that notion
‘In this moment, for example, I think a lot of the work that I’m hoping to do is about pointing people toward the organizers and the people on the front lines of this movement, because they have the most prescient, most real, most necessary voices. The greatest skill about having a platform, I think, is handing over the mic.’
For the photo shoot, the actress looked absolutely stunning in several retro-inspired looks – as she was styled by her stylist Jason Bolden – including a clinging long sleeved baby blue Bottega Veneta dress.
She also wore a stylish striped black, yellow, red and blue suit featuring long fringe on the sleeves and hemline of the jacket over a brown bodysuit.
Yara also sported beautiful orange crocheted headband and top combination from Valentino.
Changing it up: There was also a modern and more casual twist to one of her looks as she sported a patterned sweater, jeans, and white leather booties featuring orange accents from Heron Preston
There was also a modern and more casual twist to one of her looks as she sported a patterned sweater, jeans, and white leather booties featuring orange accents from Heron Preston.
Yara first gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on the sitcom Black-ish (2014-present).
That led to the spin-off series Grown-ish, which follows her character as she goes to college and begins her adult life.
Season three began airing back in January but due to the COVID-19 pandemic Freeform announced in May that the remaining episodes of the third season will air in 2021.
And along with filming the hit ABC show, Yara herself is a real life college student.
The star is currently enrolled at Harvard University and is completing a double major degree in sociology and African-American studies.
‘A moment of gratitude’ Yara seen with her family at the White House with President Barack Obama and wife Michelle