Known for her roles on legendary Black TV dramas and films such as “The Wood,” “Soul Food,” “First Sunday,” and “High School High,” actress Malinda Williams has maintained a 45-year career. She started acting at the age of 10 years old, with a debut role in “The Cosby Show,” fortifying a path for herself as a Black cultural icon and an example for Black women and girls in Hollywood.
She is now utilizing her career path and merging it with philanthropic efforts and technology to give back to the community. “I’ve seen a lot. As I’ve grown older, I realized that it’s not just a mere cliche of ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’” She continued, “You start to feel a sense of responsibility to those that come after you, and I use the word ‘responsibility’ as opposed to the word ‘obligation,’ because none of us are obliged to do anything but be Black and die.”
Williams affirms the importance of paying it forward, as other Black women have done the same for her in her career. “I know I had to do that because I am a direct recipient of that support. I understand how it has impacted my career, even my personal life, and [mentorship] certainly has had a profound influence on my success.”
In 2008 the actress began to pivot out of Hollywood after cultivating other talents, such as obtaining her cosmetology license and teaching herself how to code by discovering a book called “HTML for Dummies.” Already living in New Jersey, where she is originally from, she began to find her footing again after dealing with various life issues such as financial difficulties.
She developed a YouTube channel while simultaneously teaching herself how to code. With consistently posting, she gained 75,000 subscribers during a time when vlogging and social media were in their infancy stages. Through that break, she knew she would return back to entertainment, moving back to Los Angeles in 2010 with a newfound skillset.
“When I came back to LA, I was doing branded content because of my YouTube following. It changed everything for me because I no longer was just trying to make movies and television shows, although I still did but on the side—at night until four o’clock in the morning—I was in my bedroom coding.” Williams was teaching herself how to build websites by using various software and technologies.
“I was excited because it was new, and I wanted to show people what was possible from someone like me. None of my peers were doing this at the time. None of them, so I don’t really think my peers understood what I was trying to explain to them. I thought to myself, ‘Well, maybe you’re going to be the one, one of the ones to show them what it’s like to start a YouTube channel creating content.’
Williams began the next steps in her journey while still acting and producing. Bridging her star power and storytelling with technology, a field that Black women are often underrepresented in, Williams founded the Arise and Shine Foundation in 2023, a nonprofit organization. One of the recent endeavors is called the E.S.T.E.A.M.ED Summit, which just wrapped up its second annual coding bootcamp in partnership with Florida A&M University in June.
Arise and Shine highlights mentorship, coding, and other technological skill sets that Williams is spearheading for the empowerment of Black women and girls.
“The impact has been quite overwhelming. The core of it is wellness, and it’s a wonderful way for us to bring all of these tools together for these students to manage their mental, physical, and emotional health. We have team members that offer skill building, teachers that build a curriculum, certified psychologists, and a student liaison who is our ‘hype girl’ to further help build a healthy foundation of confidence and high self-esteem.” Hence, this is one of the key reasons Williams named her organization’s first program, the E.S.T.E.A.M. Project.
“Our foundation recruits teachers, educators, and curriculum designers to develop a curriculum that meets students’ learning needs based on various technologies, while I share my personal story. What is truly remarkable is that when you give someone permission to unlock their truth or share their story, it becomes a powerful experience.”
She further added, “When someone comes into a space to learn something new that they are unfamiliar with, they may not believe they are capable of doing it. Then once they gain the knowledge and skills, it becomes proof that they’ve built it themselves. It is a confidence booster. That is how I felt when I built my first technology platform.”
She has also led partnerships and initiatives with the TD Jakes Foundation and HBCUs, such as Jackson State, Florida A&M University (FAMU), and Cheyney University.
She continued to discuss the importance of Arise and Shine’s programming for Black women in tech, especially at the college level. ”They are a whole different generation than we are. And I view myself as a bridge between the elder generation and the generations coming after me.”
Williams recently joined forces with the Chrysalis Project in New Jersey, headlining their annual High School Girls Conference, inspiring young women across the state through mentorship and empowerment initiatives. The collaboration highlights her deep dedication to supporting youth and her belief in giving back resources to help uplift and raise the collective potential of the next generation.
For more information about the Arise and Shine Foundation’s events and efforts, and to donate, please visit www.ariseandshinefoundation.com.