Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 5-27-16 Online Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016
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‘The Haves And The Have Nots’ Star Speaks At Sister’s Event; Shares Family And Personal Struggles
Jean Duncombe, Pamela Robinson (sister of Angela Robinson of “The Have and the Have Nots”), Donald Brookins, Angela Robinson (aka Veronica Harrington on #HAHN), her husband, Scott Whitehurst, Atty. Darlene Johnson and Motown Maurice. (Photograph by Lomax McIntyre)
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Veronica Harrington is the manipulative cut-throat at- torney on Tyler Perry’s pop- ular “The Haves and The Have Nots”.
Fans of the show love to hate Veronica, but her wicked ways may not be so easy to dismiss as just outright evil, said Angela Robinson, the actress who plays her.
“I think she’s been wounded,” she said. “I think that you can’t be that conniv- ing if you’re not wounded to some degree.”
A graduate of Florida A&M University, Robinson was in Tampa last Saturday night to keynote the first Dining Room of Hope Gala for Aaron’s House, a nonprofit organiza- tion that provides support and resources to those suffering from bipolar disorder and their families.
Tampa attorney, Pamela Robinson founded the organ- ization in honor of her son, Aaron Robinson, after his death following a psychotic episode.
The visit to Tampa was more than just a chance for Ms. Robinson to greet fans and deliver a speech, but also to support family. Pamela Robinson, also the executive director of Aaron’s House, is Angela’s sister.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will help with the nonprofit’s long-term goal of acquiring buildings to provid- ing shelter and job training for the mentally ill and a place of respite and support for their caregivers, Pamela said.
The latter is especially im- portant because many care- givers suffer from burn out because they do not have the resources to live apart or take periodic breaks from the loved ones in their care, Pamela said.
Currently, Aaron’s House offers group counseling on Wednesday. Response has been tremendous, Pamela said.
“It’s exceeded my expecta- tions,” she said. “Word is spreading.”
For Angela Robinson, playing characters like Veron- ica Harrington or Shug Avery in the Broadway pro- duction of “The Color Purple” are all part of the fun of being an actress, something that the Jacksonville native has known she’s wanted to do since the age of 10.
The show’s sixth season is scheduled to premiere next month and taping on the sev- enth season is set to begin soon.
Ms. Robinson said she’s excited to see where the writ- ers next take her character.
“There will be some changes,” she said, careful not to reveal any of them. “It’s going to be wonderful.”
Working with Tyler Perry can be “challenging” but re- warding, she said.
“It’s hard because he moves very fast,” she said. “I feel like everything I’ve learned has prepared me for what I’m doing now.”
In her address, Angela Robinson talked about her faith and her struggles with in- fertility.
She also talked about the
Angela Robinson stars as Veronica Harrington on ‘The Haves and the Have Nots.’
five “heroes” – her father Willie, mother, Marilyn, FAMU professor Ronald Davis, Pastor Helena Bar- rington, and director Todd Booth – who helped shape her success.
Ms. Robinson said Booth, the longtime creative director of Jacksonville’s Al- hambra Dinner Theatre, played an important role in jumpstarting her professional acting career.
After playing on the local stage for two years, Booth in- formed Ms. Robinson that he would not hire her for the next season. He told her to move to New York City if she wanted to further her career.
Ms. Robinson said she was crushed but the blow was necessary, she said.
“He pushed me out of the nest,” she said. “Sometimes care-giving means telling the one you care for to step out on
faith.”
She called her nephew,
Aaron “my protector.” “Aaron loved people,” she
said. “He was a fighter for jus- tice. If he thought anyone was being mistreated, he ran to their defense.”
When Aaron’s health began to deteriorate, Pamela suffered in silence – something that is common among those who may feel ashamed or help- less.
Ms. Robinson shared that she, too, was silent about her and her husband of 20 years, Scott Whitehurst’s struggles to have a baby.
It was a painful episode in their marriage. But when the couple began sharing their se- cret with others, they started to heal, Ms. Robinson said.
“We started to tell our story and out of our pain, we started giving hope,” she said.
Ms. Robinson said she
and her husband travel throughout the country shar- ing their testimony of infertil- ity, hoping that their devotion to each other while going through such a devastating ex- perience can serve as inspira- tion to others.
Whether it’s infertility or mental illness, be upfront about your challenges, Ms. Robinson said.
“No matter what you’re doing, hiding should never be the answer,” she said. “We hide and pretend so much that we’ve even become unrecog- nizable to anyone, even to God.”
She encouraged others to turn their pain around and use it as a foundation to help oth- ers.
“Your testimony doesn’t al- ways look like victory at first glance,” she said. “Our healing came when we came out of hiding.”