- 2 months ago
Aisha Hinds on 9-1-1 and Engagement During Pandemic
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00:00It's going to be weird fighting fires with other partners.
00:03It'll be fun. I've never been to Texas.
00:08I know that you have a very special episode of your show coming, so I'm going to jump right into
00:13what you can tell us about this hybrid episode between Lone Star and 911.
00:19This hybrid episode, I think, is seasoned and cooked up with the finest. I think that it has
00:27all of the elements that our audiences have come to love and continue to show up for. It has
00:34high energy adventure and action. It has that human side to it. It has a little bit of humor to it.
00:45It's just all beautifully working together to create this really exciting, sustaining
00:54episode of television that I'm super, actually super proud of as an individual episode, but also for
01:02the franchise overall. I think it's a beautiful way of converging the two families that have formed
01:10from the 911 shows and bringing everyone together. I'm really happy about it.
01:16Good. I talked to Angela Bassett a couple of weeks ago, and I was asking her about just the fact that
01:24you and her have to live through COVID in real time, but also relive it on set and then doing so as
01:31first responders. How has that sat with you or affected you doing that?
01:38Well, I think the thing about it is that living through COVID is one of those things that we
01:43don't have the luxury to disconnect from, you know, because it's very much a potent part of our
01:50existence. And so taking it to work, you know, from home actually serves us well because then it
02:00affords us the opportunity to continue to employ all of the guidelines and restrictions to keeping
02:06ourselves safe. But it also, you know, sort of heightens our awareness and appreciation for
02:13those who do this work in real life, you know, and who are going and facing, you know, the fire,
02:23no pun intended, you know, of COVID-19 day in and day out, you know, and having to do so in spite of,
02:32you know, and in full sight of, you know, what it is able to do to a person, a family, a community,
02:39a country, you know. So it definitely gives me a heightened sense of honor to portray somebody like
02:51hen and do it knowing that there are thousands upon thousands of hens on the frontline daily,
03:00you know, doing this work.
03:02Yeah. And I think, you know, with losing Cicely Tyson, you know, and all that she stood for,
03:10for Black women, and I think about, you know, your character and her representation, you know,
03:16as a Black woman, as a first responder, something we don't often see, it's always the white man kind
03:20of coming in and saving, you know, and then also being the only open responder who's openly gay,
03:25you know, how does it feel for you also knowing, you know, that you are part of that narrative of
03:31just showing, you know, more representation of Black women?
03:35Yeah. You know, the thing about, even as you mentioned, Cicely Tyson, she ran the baton so
03:42that we could even still be in the race today. You know, she took the first leg or one of the first
03:49legs of this race so that we could be in the race today and at this juncture where we do have
03:57the opportunity to have stories that center people like Henrietta Wilson, that center around sharing
04:10the lives and family life and dreams and endeavors of BIPOC people, you know, and queer people and,
04:24you know, all at the same time. And so I feel so honored to sort of be living in the light of her
04:33legacy right now, you know, knowing that my work today will have the kind of impact generations
04:42down the line that Ms. Tyson's work, you know, has on me and has created and afforded for me to have
04:50today. Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. You know, I'm thinking about it. It's been a rough,
04:56a rough year. Well, 2020 was a rough year. We don't know what's coming now, but, you know,
05:02we have felt a little light, I think, in the tunnel, you know, with Kamala Harris, you know,
05:07coming into the office. But it's a feel for you also, you know, as a Black woman to know,
05:11you know, you're in a country where a Black woman is the vice president.
05:13Whew. Listen. That day. That's what everybody did. That sigh. That was it. That's the universal.
05:25Soundtrack. Of Black women everywhere. There was a lightning, you know, there was a lightning of
05:40our souls that day, you know. And as you know, Black women are always sort of saving the world
05:50in one way or the other, you know. Yeah. And sometimes as, you know, as I watch
05:56the storylines play out on our show, you know, it's sort of an embedded narrative, the way that
06:05Black women are sort of always at the center of making sure that this world does not fall
06:15completely off its axis. So, you know, definitely while that day was so inspiring, you know, and
06:25healing, you know, considering, you know, what felt like an ongoing, overt, carefree, careless,
06:35just assault on Black women, that day for me certainly felt like a bomb had been run across
06:47my body, you know. But then it also quickly, you know, is followed by, you know, the urgency
06:54for us to continue to get to work to make sure that that is not just a moment that is cosmetic
07:02for us, you know. We need to make sure that this moment actually translates into more than
07:10just a photo op and that it actually becomes, you know, policies put in place and, you know,
07:17provisions made to actually honor Black women for the contributions that we make to this country,
07:25to the world at large. Yeah, for sure. And 2020 wasn't all bad also.
07:32I know you have some good personal news. And engagement over there. Congratulations.
07:38Thank you so much. Yes.
07:41What can you tell us about? I know you said, you know, he asked and you say yes, but what can you
07:46tell us about the proposal?
07:49So, yeah, definitely. I'm not going to listen. It was great to have a sip of joy in the year
07:552020. And that moment for me definitely disrupted the narrative of 2020, you know. And I'm glad
08:03that I can look back at 2020 in a way that has given me, you know, even one highlight out of the
08:12year, you know. Just surviving 2020 is a highlight unto itself. So, the fact that I'm leaving 2021 is
08:20another highlight, but that definitely was a day of unexpected joy. He completely surprised
08:28me. And so, you know, I'm, it was, he did it on my birthday and I, because 2020 was the kind of year
08:34that it was, I had no plans to have a plan. And I was all the way okay with it.
08:41So, I was like, I was pulling back the plans heavy. Like, I wasn't going for the simplest of
08:49things. Like, I was just like, listen, all I want is like a steak from Houston's and spinach dip.
08:55Okay. That sounded good.
08:59It's not even, you know. And he, you know, he was stealth in the way that he sort of managed
09:08me throughout the year. You know, it's almost like he created this algorithm of, of how we would
09:15move and how he would move. So, it made me think that I already knew his moves before he moved. So,
09:23I didn't see the move coming. Okay. I was so unprepared.
09:31So, so he got me good. We were at the Waldorf Astoria in, here in California. And it was
09:42significant because when I graduated from college and I knew that I wanted to pursue
09:46work as an artist and an actress, I was going back home to New York. We're both from New York,
09:52Brooklyn, New York. And so, I was going back home to New York and I, you know, came up with this
09:56master plan that I'm going to work, you know, in the hotel industry because I can work overnight
10:01and therefore I'll be able to do all my auditions during the day. When I book my Broadway show,
10:07I can still do my Broadway show. Curtains will be down by 10, 11 o'clock. I'll still be able to show
10:12up at my job, you know, at this point, I'll do my job. So, all the parts worked out except the auditions
10:18in the Broadway show. So, here I am working at this hotel overnight. And it was the Waldorf Astoria
10:29in New York City. And so, I worked there until that place broke me. I found myself literally doing
10:37this thing and only this thing. And so, the side, you know, the part of me that wanted to be dreaming
10:43out loud was not. It was, you know, being silenced night after night after night as I checked people
10:49in and, you know, their room in the sky. And so, you know, I ultimately left that job and left New
10:58York and moved to California and got myself another hotel job in California. That was short-lived, but
11:03that was like my survival job, you know. So, he helped to reimagine and to redefine the Waldorf experience
11:12for me by, you know, having a stay at the Waldorf Astoria and then proposing to me on the roof of
11:17the Waldorf Astoria. And so, he was like, now, you know, now you're not, now you don't work here.
11:23Now, you know, now you can reap the benefits of being a guest, but also, there's this.
11:29Right.
11:30You know, like his whole family, his tribe flew in, called my friends, and they came. I had no idea.
11:36I was all masked up. I said, what's happening right now? It was wonderful. And I was pleasantly
11:47surprised. And I've known him for a long, long time. So, you know, that's where it makes it even
11:54that much sweeter. Because like, at this stage in your life, like, you know, when we first, you know,
11:59got together as kids, it was like, you know, cute to be like, yeah, we go together. But now we're at
12:06the stage in our life where we're like, we want to grow together. We grow, you know. So, that's where
12:11we are. And we're both there at the same time. And it's sweeter than I could even articulate.
12:17I love that. And I was going to ask because I'm like, COVID took a lot of couples out.
12:22But you all got closer. So, I'm like, what's the secret?
12:29COVID did come for some folks.
12:31Yeah.
12:32That was the thing about COVID. I was telling somebody the other day, I was like, yo, 2020
12:37and COVID-19 felt like a pop quiz on character. Because it was the crisis of all crisis that
12:43revealed your character. So, anything that you were sort of depending on or using as, you know,
12:51your survival mechanisms that didn't, that wasn't substantive, it revealed itself as useless.
12:58You know, you have to trade in some of your, you know, your tools, you know. And gratefully,
13:04you know, one of the tools that we had in place even before COVID, you know, was we were, I was in
13:09therapy, you know, and then we were in therapy, you know. And so, that was super helpful to sort of
13:14bring context, you know, and keep us communicating in a healthy way, you know, because COVID brought
13:22people to the edge of themselves. And we did, we were ready. We were ready. And there was not a lot
13:29of grace afforded to characters taking on, you know, different formations that we just weren't used to.
13:37Exactly. You put it so nicely.
13:42Because that became a thing. I was like, whoa.
13:48But, you know, as I afforded myself grace, then I also had to remind myself, the grace that you give
13:53yourself, you have to give others, you know. Don't just get to be one-sided. And the same with him,
13:58you know. And he works in healthcare. So, he was in the trenches nonstop, you know. And, you know,
14:05and so, it was, it was quite an interesting thing, because it did sort of activate my compassion
14:12towards him, you know. Because I'm like, I'm over here, just not going outside.
14:18Right. Right. And he doesn't have a-
14:20I'm barely opening the door for these girls.
14:24Right.
14:25And he's like on the train. It was just so, you know.
14:28So, but yes, I was, I was happy, thankful that it fortified. We were not one of those
14:37that, you know, that it went left on.
14:39Yeah. And I love, too, that you used the hashtag WalkersByFaith.
14:44Yes.
14:44I was like, we might need to figure out what Aisha's prayer was.
14:47You know what I mean?
14:48Let's figure it out.
14:50His last name is Walker. His actual name, yeah. His last name is Walker. So, I'll be becoming a Walker. So, yes. And also, I do have that tattoo on my foot, Walk By Walk By Faith. But, yes.
15:03Okay.
15:04That needs to be a universal hashtag for all, for all us.
15:09Right.
15:11All of us.
15:11We are out here walking by faith.
15:16For sure.
15:17And to be a potent individual.
15:21Are you getting into wedding planning or are you kind of just...
15:25Child.
15:26Well, I know. I can't imagine. So, let me ask.
15:30And, you know, the people had all the questions four hours after I was engaged.
15:33I know.
15:34Where are we going to start? You know, and that was super overwhelming. I was like, whoa, he, whoa.
15:39Yeah.
15:39But, you know, so we took some time over the Christmas, New Year's holiday to sort of sit down with each other and imagine and talk and, you know, prioritize what's important to us and, you know, figure it out.
15:55And so, we're sort of dipping our feet slowly into the process and figuring out, you know, kind of still, like, what happens now? What happens here?
16:05You know, because both of us are like, we've never done that stuff.
16:08You know, we both come from, you know, because we've known each other for so long and we are at the age that we are at, you know, we have large villages that have, you know, sort of contributed to who we are and the character of who we are.
16:31And being, becoming that person to be able to become one together.
16:36So, we're, you know, sort of being mindful of that and wanting to, you know, weigh out, you know, an impactful experience, not just for others, but for ourselves.
16:47Yeah.
16:47So, you know, yeah.
16:48But from a practical standpoint, you know, like, we were talking to wedding planners and seeing what that conversation even is.
16:56And it's even going to be nice at that right now.
17:00I hear that.
17:05You might be on top of the hill like Matthew, Cherry, and Candace.
17:08So much to thank you all.
17:14You might drop that video and that picture and be like, we did it.
17:17Right.
17:19I don't know.
17:21I don't know what it's going to be yet.
17:22But, you know, I think we're just trying to kind of just survive day to day right now.
17:27Yeah.
17:27He's still working.
17:28So, you know, we have some time and we're still very much enjoying the journey of being fiancés.
17:34Peace.
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