|
Listen to Article + Become a member for exclusives 👍🏽
 |
Redaric Williams has the Romeo Game on Lock
Fans may know actor Redaric Williams from his days as an alum on the soap opera, The Young and Restless. Throughout his career, he’s managed to play a love interest in many projects such as The Quad, Miss Me This Christmas, and now, BET’s Haus of Vicious.
The Michigan native plays Kane, a married man (Chantel Vivian played by Tami Roman) with a roaming eye, and a traumatic past, yet, he straddles moralism with an interest to rectify wrongs.
What makes his character interesting is his struggles doing what’s right, identifying who he really is, and coping with internal anguish based on his past.
However, how complete or whole are Black men supposed to be when entering a relationship? Does trauma affect how they operate in romantic partnerships? Is parenting style a factor?
Does having married parents provide a more teachable example of how men operate later in their pursuits for a companion? The list could go on, but Williams thinks setbacks don’t have to dictate how one functions in love.
360 Baseline spoke with Williams and the cast, about how men can be held hostage or self-sabotaging in behavior as they navigate relationships.
When asked how he felt about Kane, a Black man with unhealed trauma, and commitment discrepancies redeemable, Williams said,
“Yeah, absolutely. I would say absolutely. However, this is a slippery slope because for, I would say people that are in relationships that you have to be able to discern when to let something go,” he said. [Especially], you know, a toxic situation.”
He continued,
“I remembered something at the end of the scene where [the question was asked,] ‘how can you love if you’ve never been loved,’” and I don’t necessarily agree with that.”
The actor dug deeper that a lot of people who haven’t experienced love or been loved have “the most to give,”
“Some people that grew up without parents, in a traditional home, [can] turn out to be some of the best parents…it’s about self-awareness and individual responsibility,” he said.
Williams also stated that men such as Kane can take the reins of their life and not be a victim of emotional debilitating circumstances,
“It doesn’t matter what kind of turmoil you came out of.”
Press play below:
Kane’s Past on Haus of Vicious
In a recent episode, viewers saw Kane recall a horrible moment of seeing his mother exposed and vulnerable based on her relationship with the street life and narcotics.
Those circumstances helped shape his relationship with his mother and perhaps how his character treats his romantic settings with women.
During the conversation, Kane tells his mother how he had such a good thing describing it as,
“It felt like home. And what a home is supposed to be…”
He added,
“I ain’t really know what that is.”
Press play below:
Black Men in Healthier Relationships — Getting There?
According to a licensed therapist, Dr. Cortine Baity, healthy relationships in the Black community are attainable and therapy is always optional as an offering to stay on track.
Black women are well documented to be unmarried in society. However, marriage is not an indicator of healthy relationships.
Statistics show men have a higher propensity to cheat in a marriage than women with a seven percent difference. Moreover, statistics are just that — a study, not a reality for everyone.
Another study attributes Black men’s challenges in relationships to include financial difficulties, unresolved trauma, communication disconnects, lack of emotionalism, and infidelity.
Baity also said that for those in relationships, you may be committed, but you’re not blind to the temptations of the world. Therefore, going to therapy can be a greater asset than the credit it receives.
She also mentioned that infidelity grows from secrets present and if there’s an unmet need that’s dismissed by their partner.
Regular spaces that couples go to individually offer opportunities for emotional infidelity to occur and can lead to other avenues of relationship betrayal.
Nonetheless, navigation may be tricky but Baity believes will vulnerability for believers gives a segway to success,
“You’re in love. You’re relating to another human being. They’re not going to be blameless. They’re not going to be without mistakes, she said.
The doctor added,
“In so offering vulnerability, also recognize that there’s going to be a little bit of sting that comes back in that.”
