Ringo Starr told him he wore his heart on his sleeve. Reading this, I can see where Starr got that impression of LaVar Burton. He admits that he's always tended to live his life wondering "Am I enough?", trying to prove to himself as much as others that he deserves his place on our precious earth. Those ideas alone set LeVar Burton apart from many.
Burton himself cites literacy as his legacy. After getting sidetracked from his plans for the priesthood by a casting call for Alex Haley's "Roots", he burst on the world as Kunta Kinte. The image that remains indelibly etched into my mind from the movie is one of the wide eyed, confused and terrified Kunta as he struggles to reconcile this suddenly changed world with the arrival of slave traders. While he doesn't dwell long on any or his roles or scenes, I found his memories of how the whipping scene was done both interesting and revealing. He had to learn to trust. That's all I'm going to say, sorry.
While that movie marks the first phase of his public life, "Reading Rainbow" would dominate the next 23 years. It seems to have strengthened his belief that he carries the legacy of literacy legacy throughout today. As he learned, however, visibility can be both a blessing and a curse and he reveals some of his earliest personal struggles here. I wasn't of the age dynamic to follow "Reading Rainbow" but, well, who doesn't recognize that familiar "Butterflies in the sky..." refrain.
His next major role as Geordi LaForge in "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Playing a blind black man who sees more than most sighted men, he views this role as his next stage of growth. For many, seeing a black man with power, authority, and knowledge was transformative for many young (and not so young) blacks. He grew up a fan of the show, so perhaps that this was fated might be his thought path as he views the show as the one where curiosity and the driving quest to learn overcame fear.
Bottom line, a thoughtful look within himself. A self-labeled storyteller, Burton shares both his highs and lows as both a public and private man. It wasn't always a smooth ride but he doesn't hide his more difficult moments, either. In fact, he seems to use them to relate, to help make connections with the reader. The final section of the book, note, focuses on his spirituality, so to speak, and beliefs, not to mention a surprising connection he discovers via his appearance on "Finding Your Roots". Thanks so much #RandomHouse for allowing me this early read of a book that introduced me to a side of a man I've only known from afar. LaVar Burton has not only changed other's lives, it was interesting to see his own life's wrinkles revealed as he, too, continues to evolve.
