Prototype Issue
Going Beyond Skin-Deep With the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
By Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
(page 1 of 2)Most people know Hill Harper as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, the prodigious and contemplative chief medical examiner on the popular television drama CSI: NY.
What most people don’t know is that the 38-year-old actor, deemed one of People magazine’s “Sexiest Men Alive” in 2004, is something of a prodigy himself.
Born in Iowa, raised in Northern California and now living in Laurel Canyon, Harper graduated magna cum laude from Brown University. He went on to simultaneously earn a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a graduate degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Still, from college on he was engaged in acting as a member of the Boston Black Folk’s Theatre Co., one the nation’s oldest and most respected African American traveling theatre troupes. And he is an accomplished actor with an impressive list of credits in film and television shows such as He Got Game, Lackawanna Blues, ER, NYPD Blue and Married…With Children,
No matter how busy his career, Harper makes time for another profound passion: service to organizations that encourage the education of young people and foster their development.
In 2006 Harper published his first book, Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny, modeled after Rilke’s classic Letters to a Young Poet. A motivational book designed to inspire and mentor young African American men, Harper’s Letters debuted at No. 6 on the New York Times best-seller list in the self-help/miscellaneous category, rose to No. 7 on the Washington Post’s best-seller list and remains a top selling title on Amazon.com. In conjunction with the publication of Letters, Harper established MANifest Your Destiny, a foundation whose aim is to provide young African American men with the support, community and resources needed to rise to their fullest potential. Recently, Harper, who is single, spoke to RealTALK LA about his life, work and why he believes that giving back should not be seen as a responsibility, but rather as a privilege and a priority.
Who are your role models? I’d say certainly my grandparents, females and males on both sides. My grandfather on my mother’s side was a pharmacist in Seneca, South Carolina. He served the black community there because at that time black folks couldn’t go to places like Walgreens or Rexall. He was educated and he was proud, and he raised great kids. Then on my father’s side, my grandfather was a physician who had gone to Howard University and he was servicing the community, women and families. He was a family doctor in a small Iowa town. And then the women in their lives were so incredibly strong; serving the communities and on the boards of every organization that was about service. They would bring people into their homes and let them stay. They gave people money. They were this bedrock.
What do you think is the special contribution of African Americans to the entertainment industry? I think it’s an ability to use humor and drama and commingle the two really effectively. It’s also the ability to be extremely truthful. So much so that the industry can be quite racist in thinking, when they see a performance, that the person is just being themselves when in fact they are acting and showing you their brilliance. I’ll give you an example. Years ago, Khandi Alexander who is currently on CSI: Miami was starring in The Corner. She was not even nominated for an Emmy. Her performance in that show was so incredible that people thought she was really a crack ho that they’d found in Baltimore.
What would you like young African American men to come away with after reading your book? That they are magnificent. That they are brilliant. That they can do anything that they want to do in life and that all the subliminal messages they perceive, the ones that limit them, are false. They are wrong. They’re untrue. They’re lies. I want these young men to know that they are great.
Do you believe that some people are beyond redemption? No. We all have different journeys, but no one is beyond redemption. If you are still living in your flesh body, you can still create amazing, beautiful things no matter what, where or how you are.
Why did you make the decision to give back? It was very organic because it comes really naturally, but it was also purposeful in the sense that I’m part of an entertainment industry, which is and has been for a number of years, actively destroying the self-esteem of young black and brown people. The images that they put forth, the images that money is put behind, the images that are celebrated are destroying their self-esteem.
When you have a young man who believes the measure of his manhood is directly proportional to the size of the rims on his car, that’s a problem. And the only reason he got this idea is because of the business that I’m involved in. So I had to look at myself and say if I’m actually going to cash paychecks—even though I don’t play those type of characters—if I’m going to cash paychecks from an industry that is destroying the self-esteem of our youth in this way, I have to try to do something to right the ship and to help create new images and bring about healing.
What does your foundation do? First of all, let’s look at the word itself, “foundation.” I believe that a foundation is critical in holding up and supporting your dreams and your destiny. Having a foundation is key. This foundation provides education and technological opportunities as well as connecting individuals, young people in particular, who want to do great things in and with their lives. We all need help. We all need partners in order to rise. I think the reason why something like MySpace has become so popular is because folks want to chat, folks want to be in community. We’re living in a society that is much more high tech and low touch, so we have to find ways to be in community. I want to create a community of young people who are devoted and committed to their destinies. Technology is the biggest tool we have to shorten or lessen this gap, this achievement gap between the so-called haves and the have-nots.
The foundation itself has an offshoot called the Adopt-a-School program. Jaime Pressly [star of the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl] and I teamed up and put together a fundraising event for it, and all the money that was taken in that evening was earmarked for schools, and people who donated would specify how they wanted their money applied. Some people would say, “I want this gift to go to this specific school and I want it to be used for pencils, paper, notebooks.” The event was done under the auspices of the MANifest Your Destiny Foundation. I really do believe that we, as private citizens, whether we have kids or not, need to support our public schools. We should all be actively involved with the schools in our local communities.
Why did you choose the name MANifest Your Destiny for your foundation? MANifest Your Destiny is the subtitle of my book. A few years ago, I decided I was going to write a book with that title. It was going to be a motivational book. I just like to play on that idea of destiny and possibility and manifesting. I love how it sounds. I love what it symbolizes. I love that we are beings of destiny and that if we embrace our full being-ness, that the possibilities are endless so it really is up to us to manifest our true destinies.
How is the foundation’s mission carried out? We give out scholarships. There is an application process and depending on what the applicant’s needs are and our ability to meet them, we will grant a scholarship. The foundation is relatively young, but we’ve already given out a couple of scholarships. One, for instance, went to a young man who was in need of money because he’d made it very clear through his application and the documentation he provided that unless he received some assistance, he was not going to be able to stay in the junior college that he was attending.
We are also currently putting in place a plan and a way to provide technology for people who need it. Then there’s the website, which is the most cost-intensive part of this whole process. It’s about being able to create, support and grow this community that I envision. I get hundreds of e-mails a week from people who have read my book. They go to the website and they register, and so the community is growing and constantly getting larger.
What do you think you know that you want to share? That not enough young men in this world get told I love you by elder men.
‘I had to look at myself and say if I’m going to cash paychecks from an industry that is destroying the self-esteem of our youth in this way, I have to try to do something to right the ship and to help create new images.’
What areas are you developing in your life now? Well, writing is one, and relationships.
Where do you see yourself in ten years? I see myself on a beach, sipping a piña colada, with a beautiful woman, who would probably be my wife or the woman I’m cheating with, right next to me and looking out over the waves and saying, “Wake up, Hill, you’re dreaming” (laughs). Just joking.
To answer this question a little bit more seriously, I have to say that nothing is promised, and I mean this sincerely. I don’t know where I’ll be in ten years. I don’t even know if I’ll still be inhabiting this flesh body. I know that each day, or at least I hope, between this day and the next ten years, that I live in courage and to the best of my ability. And if I do that, then wherever I’ll in ten years is where I’ll be. It really is a journey.
You must have an interesting self image. (Slaps his hand on the table playfully) Let’s be real clear. I’m basically the black combination of Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Errol Flynn and Abraham Lincoln (laughs).
Word has it you have an unusual hobby. I don’t know how unusual it is, and I don’t do it as much as I used to, but. …it’s juggling. I juggle (laughs)! I used to juggle all the time, when I was young especially. I could do tricks, behind the back, throw it over my head, under my legs. I was a really, really good juggler. I remember it came about because when I was little my mother took me to Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco and there was a juggler there named Ray Jason who was juggling in the middle of the square and he was juggling machetes, and I was like, “My God, that’s the best thing ever.” So I went up to him and said, “You’re the best in the world. I want to do that.” He said, “This is what you’ve gotta do.” And he told me where to get the balls and how to practice. From that time on, it’s what I did. It was almost like my meditation. I’d be in my room just juggling if I needed to escape or whatever because when you’re juggling you just go to a different mental place.
Anything scare you? The first answer that comes to mind is failure, but I guess all that really means is that I’m afraid of not being loved.
What inspires you? People doing magical, amazing things. I mean, there’s so much wonder in this world. Whether it’s artistic, spiritual, political, creative, it doesn’t matter. Anybody that does magnificent things. It’s just so inspiring to me. I believe that all of us can do great things and there are no limits. There are just no limits.
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