In a recent interview Academy Award nominated actress Viola Davis recalls the struggles of her youth growing up in Central Falls, Rhode Island...
Viola tells Leon Andre Talley for Entertainment Tonight,
"I have stories of being spit on. You have to realize I was in a predominantly white culture... and third grade was the worst because every day after school I would wait at the door and the bell would ring. And as soon as the bell rang I ran as fast as I could from the front door to my house, which was at least a mile away, because I would have eight to nine boys with sticks, bricks, anything they could find, who were ready to kill me."
When Viola finally told her mother about the bullies,
"She (mother) said, 'Viola, I want you to take my crochet needle and you put it in your pocket and if they stop you again you tell them you're gonna (stab) 'em."
