Hachette Book Group
Pam Grier is angry. A sudden snow stormed dumped more than 10 inches of snow on her house in Colorado in April.
April.
Yet, people have the nerve to question whether humans hurt the environment. Our on-again, off-again telephone interview is underway. The storm killed power to her house.
Grier, a Winston-Salem native, is fired up. The freakish weather has her talking about the environment, the economy and feminism.
This was supposed to be a 15-minute interview about her Friday appearance at The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. Real Eyes Bookstore is bringing Grier here to promote her new book “Foxy.”
The biography is full of tidbits you knew such Grier’s relationship with basketball legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar. There are also fun surprises such as the time she put the late comedian Richard Pryor’s sick horse in her Jaguar to take it to the vet.
Forty-five minutes later, Grier and I are talking about what’s not in her book. She’s a voracious readers and is passionate about politics, animals and fighting injustice.
“We haven’t listened well. That’s why we’re in this mess,” she said “Foxy does read and listen and studies history constantly because I am a part of it. We have to stay ahead of the game even though we’re a part of it.”
She worries about the future of our children because so many of whom are obese and perform poorly in school compared to their international peers.
“Everyone should have a college education,” she said. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if we had more educated people. We don’t have arts and music.”
“How do we get back to being a smart country?” she said. “We elected President Barack Obama who makes us read again.”
Grier’s biggest concern is the imbalance of power that is created by the lack of an educated electorate.
“When you have an imbalance in life then you will have that all through your history,” said Grier.
When Grier isn’t talking about politics, she’s talking about her career – past and future. She is slated to star in “Larry Crowne” alongside Kevin Costner. It’s her first prominent role in a feature film since “Jackie Browne,” more than a decade ago ago.
In fact, she was sitting on her front porch studying lines for the new movie the day before the big snowstorm hit two weeks ago.
She’s excited about the opportunity. Despite not being in any feature films lately, Grier has been busy on television. She played a jazz singer in hit Showtime TV show “The L Word.” The role exposed her to the discrimination that gays and lesbians face, and that made her angry too.
“You don’t define people by their sexuality. It’s not a lifestyle,” she said. “Style is a fad of clothing. How dare they demean human beings?”
“For another human being to deny another human a right of existence whether its marriage, adoption, children or healthcare. It’s mind-bobbling to me.”
One thing is clear – Grier fights injustice on screen and off.
The Original Foxy Brown
