Actress Nicole Beharie has recently opened up about her health issues exacerbated by racial disparities.
The 36-year-old, who is best known for her roles on Sleepy Hollow and in 2020’s Miss Juneteenth, told on PEOPLE’s Voices for Change series that she has been experiencing racism and hoping to see a change in the future.
She said, “Growing up, we moved around a great deal. My dad was in the foreign service. I lived in Panama, I lived in Nigeria, the U.K. My mom is Jamaican British, and my dad is an African American from Alabama.”
“So I saw a lot of different cultures and I think that’s what turned me into an actor, because you move around and you need to adapt,” Beharie continued. “That forms your character quite a bit. I was around people from different cultures all the time and I had friends from all walks of life, but I did discover that was quite peculiar in the United States.”
“Moving back to the States and landing in Georgia for elementary school [at 11] was the first time [I encountered racism],” the Solos actress recalled. “I saw how differently the teacher would treat the black kids versus the white kids.”
“I had always been in American International Schools and you didn’t feel it too much. But it was different- the expectation, the language, the level of authority and punishment, especially with young black boys. [I remember thinking], ‘Why is the teacher so rough with him?’”
In 2016, Beharie had to absurdly leave Sleepy Hollow because of her autoimmune disorder. She later spoke out about unfair treatment on the set.
“Sometimes there are environments that are great to work in and sometimes there are toxic environments,” she said. “If you have the bad fortune of also becoming ill in an environment that is not only biologically toxic but spiritually toxic, it can be very difficult.”
Beharie added, “There are medical barometers that say African Americans and people of color have a higher pain threshold and tolerance. It’s something people would use to justify treating people a certain way and some of those things are actually still on the books. Some of that mentality is still in the culture and the way that people are treated in the medical industry — and at work.”
