纽约时报 莱瓦尔·伯顿谈他的新挑战(5)（在线收听）

You've talked in the past about the importance of "Roots" as a key moment of recognition for the Black experience in American culture. Is there a particular aspect of the Black experience in America that you feel is still being ignored by the culture industry? Of course: What being Black in America looks and feels like, right, David? Well, I don't expect you to know. I don't know why I say "right?" as if we have shared lived experience. We do, but not in this regard. One could not achieve a status lower in society than to be born Black in America. That means everything is on the order of ascendancy. That is the raison d'être. It's why we exist: to rise, to rise, to rise to the point where our humanity is recognized, to rise to our fullest level of potential in spite of the knee on our necks.

问：你以前谈到过《根》这部剧的重要性，它是承认美国文化中黑人经历的关键时刻。你认为美国黑人的经历有没有哪方面仍被文化产业所忽视？答：当然。美国的黑人是什么情况？有什么感觉？对吧，大卫？我不希望你知道。我不知道为什么我会说“对吗？”就像我们有共同的生活经历一样。我们确实有，但不是在这方面。没有人的社会地位低于在美国出生的黑人。这意味着一切都处于优势地位。这就是存在的理由。这就是我们存在的原因：奋起，奋起，奋起到我们的人性得到承认的地步，奋起到我们最大的潜能水平，尽管会有用膝盖跪压在我们的脖子上。

You said earlier that you have moments where you wonder how your soul got here. Do you believe your soul was around before LeVar Burton was born? Oh, I believe in reincarnation. I don't think we're one and done. I think that as souls we are continually seeking experience and that reincarnating is the way the soul learns. When my mother passed away a few years ago, I was aware, for the first time, of what it feels like to have angelic advocacy. This moment that I am experiencing now, and I haven't had a moment like this since I was 19 in terms of public attention — what I love about this moment is that I'm 64. I'm not 19. I understand what this moment is about. I understand that it's fleeting. I'm comfortable with myself, and so I know that my response to it is balanced and organic, and I can enjoy it so much more. But to my point, I know Erma Gene is up there advocating for her son.

问：你刚才提到有时你会想知道自已的灵魂是如何来到这里的。你相信你的灵魂在莱瓦尔·伯顿出生之前就已经存在了吗？答：哦，我相信轮回。我不认为我们是一步到位的。我认为，作为灵魂，我们不断地寻求经验，转世是灵魂学习的方式。几年前，我母亲去世时，我第一次了解到得到天使的支持是什么感觉。就我现在受到的公众关注而言，我从19岁开始就没再受到过这种程度的关注，我喜欢这一刻的原因是我已经64岁。不是19岁。我明白这一刻的意义。我知道这种关注转瞬即逝。我对自己很满意，所以我知道我对这种情况的反应是平衡的和有机的，我可以更加享受。但在我看来，我知道埃尔玛·吉恩正在天堂支持她的儿子。

How tough is it going to be if you don't get the "Jeopardy!" job? It will hurt. I'm not going to lie. But if that happens, I will get over it. I will be fine. Remember: Everything happens perfectly and for a reason. That is my default. It's all going to be OK. Because it always is.

问：如果你没有得到《危险边缘》节目这份工作，会有多艰难？答：会很难过。我不想撒谎。但如果这真的发生了，我也会克服的。我会没事的。记住：任何事情的发生都是完美的，都是有原因的。这是我的默认想法。一切都会好起来的。因为一直是这样。