Having joined CBS’ The Talk in 2011, Sheryl Underwood, 57, is known for her big personality and stating her opinions. February’s Black History Month has been no exception, especially when it comes to discussing the progress made under the Black Lives Matter movement in our country. “I am very proud,” Sheryl told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY during an episode of TVTalk on Instagram Live on Feb. 22.
The Black Lives Matter movement kicked off across the world during the summer of 2020. After the horrific murders by police officers against unarmed, black Americans, Breonna Taylor, 26, and George Floyd, 46, protests over their deaths began happening across the United States and elsewhere against police violence towards Black people. While most protests were peaceful, several led to violent rioting and looting that divided our nation even further.
For Sheryl, getting your voice heard in a positive manner will always be critical to bringing about change. “First you have to march, and that gets everybody’s attention,” Sheryl said to HL, going on to break down the other bodies involved in bringing about much-needed change — including contact Attorney Generals. “And the legislative initiative. The fact with the Breonna Taylor situation and you think you’d have an Attorney General that would be cognitive of this, recognize this, that means more work needs to be done because now people understood the Grand Jury process. Now they’re understanding, ‘I can petition and I want my testimony,'” she went on.
“What I was told about this case was going to be made public by someone who’s name they may not know. That grand jury did what they needed to do,” Sheryl added. “Now we know the system needs to be changed. One, for Black Lives Matter, I’m really proud of this movement that became a global phenomenon. And then you learn the treatment of black people in other countries was similar and people had never heard about systemic racism.”
Systemic racism is also an important topic that Sheryl is passionate about. On Jan. 6, a group of white Trump supporters stormed the US capital in Washington DC, resulting in even more conversation when it comes systemic racism in our country. Although the videos are hard to watch, Sheryl believes these chain of events have gotten people talking. “People didn’t want to address white supremacy and law enforcement and now you see the capital being over-run by white supremacists and even white people are going, “Hell no!” Sheryl added. “And now that I know, I’m going to do something about it. That’s what it’s all about.”
Black History Month is just the beginning for Sheryl, and she’s happy to see it being celebrated during the month of February and beyond. “Black History Month is the start of the journey but it doesn’t mean it needs to stop,” Sheryl said. “Black history is being made each and every day.” Catch Sheryl and her co-stars on The Talk which airs weekdays on CBS at 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. PST.
