“I do love that I get to be a voice of the young activist generation,” says Logan Browning about her role in the Netflix series “Dear White People” as Sam White, a college student who uses her radio show to call out racism on campus. “I don’t think there are enough versions of that in the media and entertainment, so it’s really an honor to portray millennial activism.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Browning above.
“Dear White People” is the continuation of a story that started with the 2014 independent film written and directed by Justin Simien, who returns as the creator and writer of the Netflix series. Many cast members from the film have returned for the series, but Browning is a new addition; Sam White was originally played by Tessa Thompson. “It was really cool when I first saw the film because I automatically related to it going to a [Predominantly White Institution],” says Browning. “I have experienced the radical passion that she has, and I’ve experienced some of the negative ramifications.”
She expressed some of that passion during a tense day on set when the cast was shooting a scene involving a life-threatening encounter with campus police. “A young man laughed and made a comment about everyone taking it so seriously, and I lost it. I went off because it was that serious for all of us,” Browning explains. “If this is something that he does not have to witness and be a part of in his life, then I want this to be the moment where he understands that it is real and it does matter.”
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