'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air's' Daphne Maxwell Reid Is Real #BlackExcellence- Essence

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Sydney Scott Oct, 02, 2017

Daphne Maxwell Reid gets a lot of grief for her role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Reid took over for Janet Hubert as Aunt Viv on the beloved sitcom and fans definitely noticed the change. Reid has gotten heat for the recasting ever since.

However, Twitter user @eb4prez has reminded everyone that Reid is the epitome of Black excellence.

EB, also known as Eric Black and host of “Soul Savviness,” created a thread of Reid’s astounding achievements, which included some historic firsts.

She was the FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO COVER GLAMOUR MAGAZINE in October of 1969… kinda funny that I’m just now getting around to this… in October pic.twitter.com/eSSznibVS5
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

Also the first Black woman to be crowned Home Coming Queen at Northwestern University. When she won, white students boycotted.
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

The backlash from her win was so bad, that the university didn’t even photograph or feature her in the campus paper, like they did others.
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

so JET Magazine stepped in and put her on the cover of their magazine, to highlight all of the nation’s Black homecoming queens at PWIs pic.twitter.com/U9hbb77Aef
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

that experience scarred her so badly that she actually wanted to give her title back to a white student. She didn’t have time for the BS
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

First Homecoming Queen at Northwestern her freshman year in 1967… only a year after the Civil Rights March in Selma. pic.twitter.com/FXbRDZ9ftU
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

Northwestern University… established in 1851… didn’t have a Black homecoming queen til 1967. Let that marinate.
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

After her win… “Later one of the girls was crying her eyes out [at not being queen] and the other girls were consoling her.
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

I felt like saying, ‘You want this? I’ll give it to you. I have got to go.’”
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

“And the 1967 queen is... Daphne Maxwell! And it got real quiet,” she recalls. “I smiled, received my flowers and left the stage.”
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

Queen. pic.twitter.com/nhnq9j6LBF
— Eric M. Black (@eb4prez) October 1, 2017

EB continued by also highlighting Reid’s accomplishments with her husband, actor Tim Reid, including work on shows like Linc’s, Frank’s Place, and Snoops.

Reid was snapped back in March with castmates from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air at LA’s Nobu during a mini reunion, which also included Will Smith.

Looks like Aunt Viv number two is a real boss.