BOLD is excited to put a spotlight on incredible black women and their stories of representation. Ever I Saw Your Face highlights the beauty and importance of representation in art with three simple questions. It captures how representation not only inspires us to dream, but moves us internally and works to re-humanize us as black women.
Meet Loy A. Webb a Chicago born playwright, tv writer, and attorney. Her plays include The Light (MCC Theater 2018/2019, Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play; The New Colony, 2017/2018, Joseph Jefferson Award), and His Shadow (16th Street Theater 2019/2020, Joseph Jefferson Award). She was an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. TV writing credits include AMC's NOS4A2 and BET's Ms. Pat.
1. When was the first time you saw yourself in art and it changed you?
The first time I truly saw myself and it registered with my spirit wasn’t actually a physical picture, but the written word and from there the physical picture resonated with me. I remember one summer I had went on a spree of just buying books and I bought Queen Latifah’s book “Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom.” Reading her experience being a full figured woman in the industry, her highs and lows of that and finding a way to power through with confidence really resonated with me. For the first time after reading that book I found the confidence to say, “You know what I love me. All of me. Even if the world does not.” Her words made me fully see myself, accept myself and start to love the woman I was and am, despite the world telling me as a full figured woman I was wrong.
2. What was this woman doing that captivated and changed you?
[ Queen Latifah's] story... grabbed me. Then after resonating with her story, I started paying more attention to her. It was around the time that she had the Covergirl campaign. So her face just started to pop-up everywhere I went. And everywhere I saw her face, I saw me in her, which acted as a mirror of affirmation for my own beauty.
3. Why does representation matter to you?
Without representation it can seem like we are like ghost peering into a mirror with no reflection. But when we see people who look like us on every level whether it's our skin tone, our size, whatever, it reminds us that there is a reflection, a beautiful reflection, staring back at us. In short, representation of all types affirms I am here, alive, and worthy of taking up space on this planet. I hope that in the future I do that for other people.
Thanks Loy for sharing your story and the beauty of Queen Latifah! We want to know the first time you saw your face and how it changed you.
Share your story of representation using the hashtag #boldrepresentation and tag us @iamaboldwoman.