Viola Davis & Julius Tennon on Black Love and Marriage: “Keep God at the Center”

Viola Davis & Julius Tennon have been the ICON Honorees at our inaugural Black Love Honors Brunch in 2022. Their love, dedication, and impression have blessed “Black Love Doc,” Black Love Inc, and the world. In celebration of this present day, Viola and Julius spoke with BlackLove.com about what Black love means to them, maintaining God on the heart of their marriage, and rather more.

Yasmine Jameelah: Viola, throughout your “Black Love Doc” interview, you stated that once you met Julius, your whole life acquired higher. How do you’re feeling now? 

Viola Davis: It’s (life) nonetheless getting higher and higher. When loves comes into your life it must get higher, and if it’s not getting higher, you’re with the flawed particular person. And it’s not like each single day there’s no obstacles or challenges, however you need somebody who’s going to battle with you, for you, and for the 2 of you — that’s my Julius. 

Julius Tennon: I really like Viola a lot. She’s a terrific girl. We’ve got challenges like another couple – we battle, doorways get slammed, however we by no means disparage each other, and we by no means let the solar go down on our anger, so we don’t carry our troubles from in the present day into tomorrow. 

BlackLove.com Associated Articles:Black Love, Inc. is Carving Out Secure Areas for Black MenDeVon Franklin Talks Wellness, Divorce, and Nonetheless Believing in Love at Black Love Honors5 Main Takeaways From Black Love Summit 2022

Yasmine Jameelah: In the beginning of Black Love Weekend, Black Love set the intention that “Black love is” so many issues — neighborhood, entrepreneurship, household, and so forth. Can the 2 of you end that sentence, what’s Black love for you? 

Julius Tennon: Black love is enduring as a result of ever since we’ve met, it’s simply felt like we’ve continued to develop. We’ve been collectively for 23 years, and yearly we simply get higher. All these years, it’s nonetheless enjoyable, and it doesn’t get boring with God within the heart of our marriage. We all know the place our blessings come from, and we have now been blessed from day one to now and nonetheless going sturdy. 

Viola Davis: Black love is passionate; it’s fireplace; similar to Julius stated, it’s a type of embers, a fireplace that actually by no means goes out. And there’s sufficient to unfold. To have the expertise of loving a Black man, and to have him perceive you as a Black girl. To grasp your hair. Perceive what society throws at you time and time once more. Perceive that we traditionally come from a spot the place nobody has our backs and to additionally perceive traditionally what’s been positioned on them, and never add to that. It’s a lot. It’s passionate; it’s fireplace, it’s a flame that may by no means exit as a result of it has to embody quite a bit. 

View Viola and Julius’ acceptance speech beneath: