Angela Bassett Speaks for Akeelah and the Bee

In Theatres April 28

A new mom herself, not to mention the child of an academically encouraging mom, Bassett felt the story of educating children was vital. In addition to spelling Akeelah’s teacher pushes her to speak proper English as well.

“I really love proper grammar, English, professionalism, all those things,” Bassett said. “A lot of time, when I’m comfortable and I’m talking, I will use a little Ebonics. Dave Chappelle at the Actors Studio was asked by that host Lipton, `A lot of comedians can sound like white guys.’ And Dave Chappelle said we’re all bi-lingual. Denzel Washington said, ‘I can talk out of the side my mouth and win an Oscar for Training Day, but I can also perform in Julius Cesear. That’s what he means by bi-lingual.”

It may be okay to speak both versions of English, but you have to know the right place. “I can give you the king’s English and then I can take it to the street, but do both or do one and don’t do one knowing only the street. That’s going to hold you back because what comes out is going to impress people and it will impress them negatively. You may be brilliant but you speak a certain way and trying to get in a certain door, it’s going to hold you back.”

Of course, some people go back to speaking “street” after they achieve success. “Now if you make it through the door, like a lot of rappers, and maintain the way they speak, well they’ve come to a certain level and it’s fine, it’s cute, let me speak the way you do.”

But with impressionable babies to raise, Bassett has to be careful who she even allows to influence them. “I’m looking for a nanny. I asked at my church, I don’t want to go through a nanny service because I don’t know those individuals. I’m hesitant that they place anyone in my home just to get the fees. ‘I’m displeased with her,’ ‘We’ll send you another.’ ‘I’m displeased with her.’ ‘We’ll send you another. Thank you for your $3500.’ So I asked people I know at my church in the nursery and they highly recommended [someone with] passion for children, has a nursery care center in her home, going back to school, wants to go where she’s led. She gives me her information and last night I call and hang up the phone four times because her answering machine says, ‘You has reached McCorvey Nursing Care For Children.’ You has reached? Come highly recommended, very good with the kids, has a nursery care center and ‘You has reached?’ I’m telling you, four times! Every time I was going to leave a message, I can’t. ‘You has reached.’”

Maybe Bassett is overreacting, but kids learn their language skills when they’re young. “They’re not speaking now but suppose she was great otherwise, she is chewing up the king’s language. I did finally leave a message because I kept reading all this other stuff that was so positive. When I speak to her I’m going to have to tell her, ‘Sweetheart, change your [grammar].’ Sometimes you can just let them sleep, don’t wake them, just let them sleep, but sometimes I just want to pull their coat on one thing and it should be you have reached. That affected me. They can learn French, Spanish, English. They can become multi linguists and they can learn ‘You has reached’ at this age. No matter all the love and care, throw yourself in front of the kid, but this made me step back. Hmmm. Do I want them to learn perfect grammar or do I want someone someone who loves the kids and will throw themselves in front of a moving bus?”

Akeelah’s working mom has little time to worry about grammar but she does know that school is important. She’d rather see Akeelah get straight A’s than win a spelling contest. “I could see some similarities, remembering my own childhood, my own mom, how tough she was on me at times, the challenges she faced as a single mom and just trying to balance it. My sister and I thought we were pretty good kids but my mother would just like freak out.”

We can cut this mom a little bit of slack because she’s holding it all together alone. “You sort of dig beneath the surface and see how she ticks and you know, looking at what the givens are. What it must be like to go through the process of grief. We took the pictures of a nice actor who played my husband, the photographs of Akeelah’s dad. Doing the back story and history, they were a great couple, great pair, that he secured that family, and then he was taken in this violent way. All of this is in the script and how it’s impacted her from that time to this day. She’s still grieving, she’s still nursing that pain and that hurt. Along with that, you’ve got to keep the lights on, the bills paid, and that’s taking you away also in addition to that pain.”

See Angela Bassett raise Akeelah and the Bee on April 28.