Michael T. Williamson Research Paper

Michael ( Mykelti ) T. William

Michael T. Williamson was born March 4, 1957 in Saint Louis, Missouri. When he was young his grandfather gave him the name Mykelti, which means spirit and silent friend. Mykelti was one of eight children. His father left when he was young. Consequently, his mother had to work more. Therefore, his mother had to rely on neighbors to watch her children. From Mykelti being watched by his neighbor he was molested by man of the house. His neighbor treated to kill his mother if he told.

Mykelti moved to California at the age of 10. When he was 13 years old he was made a locker dancer on Soul Train, that was his first appearance on television. Mykelti excelled greatly football and basketball but found that it wasn’t

his passion. He later joined cheerleading. Mykelti graduated from Crenshaw High School with good grades in 1975. After high school he made his first debut on Starsky and Hutch. Eventually, from starring in Starsky and Hutch he landed more roles.
In 1994, Mykelti was best known for his role as Bubba in the movie Forest Gump. He was married three times, with his first ex-wife he has a daughter. Mykelti was put on trial for in 1998 for attempted manslaughter for his ex-wife’s husband. He was told that his ex-wife and her husband did inappropriate content infront of his daughter, given his background of being molested Mykelti snapped. Being put on trial really took a toll on Mykelti financially. As a result he thought his career was over. During his career break he often went to church and flew planes. In 2001, is when Mykelti’s career began to blossomed again.
Mykelti is important in today's society because he is a sexual abuse survivor. Mykelti came out about being molested which a hard thing to do. His current wife whom he has two daughters with, helped him come out about the sexual abuse he endured. He used acting as a outlet. Mykelti currently plays Gabriel Maxion in the new movie fences. The movie Fences just received a Oscar for best motion picture. Furthermore, he found his passion and followed it. Mykelti didn't let his past hinder him from reaching his goals.