EXCLUSIVE | All American’s Karimah Westbrook teases Grace’s relationship with Lamon Archey’s D’Angelo Carter
A mother is a walking miracle... and ‘All American’ proves that with Karimah Westbrook starring as Grace James. A guiding light for Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) through the first two seasons, the 42-year-old dishes new secrets in an exclusive interview with MEAWW.
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she stepped foot into the world of glamor in 2000 with an episode of ‘City of Angels’. The actress was later cast in the teen dance drama ‘Save the Last Dance’. Not just that, she also has television shows like ‘Girlfriends’, ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Shameless’ to her credit. As the third season of ‘All American’ comes back with tons of drama and interpersonal conflicts, what will Grace's role be?
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This season, Grace is running against Superintendent D’Angelo Carter, played by Lamon Archey. In a little snippet that Karimah shared on her Instagram profile, Grace tells Coach Billy Baker (Taye Diggs) that he has come with a large-scale proposal to convert South Crenshaw to a Magnet School and adds, “no, we do not like him”.
Carter's plan seems to be to effectively gentrify the surrounding neighborhood at warp speed under the guise of urban revitalization but Grace has serious doubts. Not one to spill the beans, Westbrook is quite tight-lipped about the new camaraderie even as fans continue to build theories around how the two might fall in love. After all, Carter studied with her late husband Corey James (Chad L Coleman) and Billy but was sent to boarding school after his freshman year due to the bullying culture of the football team.
Since the last time we spoke to Westbrook, a lot has changed in the world of ‘All American’. The biggest tragedy in Grace's life was when Corey died. Will that loss haunt her again this season? Shedding light on what's to come, the actress said, “Great talking with you guys again as well. I don’t know if the loss of Corey will haunt Grace this season. I think she’s made peace with it all.”
In the very first episode, we find out that Grace and Micah Richards (Wolé Parks) are no longer together, will they rekindle their love as more episodes roll out, or is it the final goodbye? Confirming it's the latter, Westbrook said, “Grace decided that Micah wasn’t the one for her so I think it’s safe to say that it’s officially over.” Quashing all theories of a romantic spark between Grace and Billy, she added, “Grace and Billy will also be great friends.”
Talking about the challenges that lie ahead, Westbrook said, “I think two of Grace’s biggest challenges are building up the school and community with the community garden at South Crenshaw High and having to deal with Principal Carter. These are the challenges that I know of thus far.”
Sharing a photo on Instagram with Lamon Archey, she wrote, “I mean... I’m smiling in this photo but someone needs to tell superintendent Carter that Grace James don’t play no games.” In another post, she wrote, “Grace won't let him get to her that easily.” One fan was quick to comment, “Awww shoot! Don’t fall in love Grace,” and another said, “We might not like him now but we know something gon happen between y'all two.”
With the actress hinting on how important her role with Carter might get in the future, it seems quite likely that the two may each become rivals or lovers. One fan has even given the go-ahead saying, “I ship them on All American.” What do you think will happen? Share your theories in the comments below.
‘All American’ Season 3 premiered with its first episode on January 18 and the second one aired on January 25, 2021. Catch the third episode titled ‘High Expectations’ on February 1, 2021. If you're wondering when it will premiere on Netflix, you'll have to wait until all episodes roll out on The CW Network.