sheryl lee ralph – a diva’s call for urgency
Actress, Sometimes I Cry
Years before Beyoncé Knowles graced the silver screen as the soul diva Deena Jones in the Oscarwinning
film Dreamgirls, Sheryl Lee Ralph originated the role in what was one of the most successful
musicals on Broadway. Although, she eventually took a hiatus from the stage to pursue film and television,
Ralph recently returned to the theatre in the touching, one-woman play, Sometimes I Cry.
The play chronicles the struggles of six women who are forced to deal with HIV/AIDS. Ralph was inspired
to write and produce the play after several of her friends died from this devastating disease. “We
have ignored HIV for too long,” Ralph says. “I want this play to give people who have been affected by
this disease a voice.”
Along with her stage play, Ralph also served as the host and producer for the benefit concert “DIVAS
Simply Singing!” She is dedicated to raising awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. “I have been [raising]
awareness about HIV for 20 years,” she says. “People didn’t take it serious back then, but now we see
that it’s a serious epidemic.”
Ralph believes that presenting the hard facts on HIV/AIDS will cause others to take action to reduce
the high number of infections in the black community. “Black women have a greater chance of becoming
infected by HIV than anybody on the planet,” she says. “Black women can’t walk around with a time
bomb between their legs. We must get tested and force others who are around us to do the same.”
–amir shaw
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