Anthony Anderson Reveals ‘Villain’ Origin at Black Men XCEL Summit

Actor Anthony Anderson was honored at the 2023 gala XCEL Black Men’s Summit before this week. Annual conference hosted by BLACK ENTERPRISESgoals to have a good time Black men in business while also providing networking opportunities and tools for private and skilled development.

“Our mission: to elevate and empower Black men to be recognized for their worth and talent. The The XCEL Awards, the nation’s highest recognition of Black male excellence and leadership, recognize Black men in fields ranging from business and technology to sports and the arts,” he states. TO BE.

The three-day event, which took place in Miami from October 11 to 13, featured over 40 speakers and a series of team-building sessions and recreational activities.

The actor took part in a fireplace chat moderated By TO BE President Earl G. Graves Jr. Executive producer of long-running television program ddiscussed how he and series creator Kenya Burris conceptualized the Emmy Award-winning series.

“My then-12-year-old son came to my house and said, ‘You know, Dad, I don’t feel Black,’” Anderson recalled. His son went on to say that he didn’t see many black families in his community or at school. He also noted the life-style differences of his family members living in South Central Los Angeles, in addition to the negative experiences of Black men he saw on the news.

“And I said, ‘Son, this is your Black experience,’” Anderson replied. He said it “…being able to go to private school, being able to live in the neighborhoods that you live in, and being able to do what we do, doesn’t make you any less black.”

Having had similar experiences together with his children, series creator Barris joked that he has a family. Barris decided that this could be the name of the show.

“That was the only name we came up with and stuck with.” Anderson told the audience.

The actor hinted that he expected some network backlash over the show’s groundbreaking title.

“We were willing to dig in the trenches and fight the network to keep our name, but we didn’t have to do that,” he said.

aired for eight seasons and received several awards, including a Peabody Award, three Critics Choice Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, an Emmy Award and 6 NAACP Image Awards, making it the highest-winning program in NAACP Image Award history.

Anderson was also one in every of six honorees at this 12 months’s XCEL Summit. Others include Shannon Brown, CEO of BCS Consulting; David Grain, General Manager Grain Management; and Chris Womack, president and CEO of Southern Company.