Stokely Hathaway Discusses Representing Black Culture In AEW
Stokely Hathaway is proud to represent black culture in All Elite Wrestling.
Speaking to The Root, Hathaway explained how he highlights Black culture while continuing to appeal to the AEW demographic.
“I try to appeal to everyone but obviously I’m Black. I love Black culture, as I should, [and] I wouldn’t change who I am, what I love, for the world,” he said. “When I first got into this, my goal was to have other people who look like me go, ‘Oh, I can do this too.’ Not to necessarily be a manager, but whatever they want to do, right? I’m on national television, twice a week and hopefully some kid who looks like me or who can identify with what I do, they can hear the references, they can watch the promos, and they go, ‘Oh, that’s cool, he’s appealing to me. Maybe I can do this too.’ So it may sound crazy but that’s been my goal.”
“The other interesting part of that is honestly some of what I say may fly over people’s heads, so it’s been kind of a struggle to appease both worlds. Obviously, I want to keep doing what I’m doing, but AEW’s demographic is a little different. It’s me trying to blend in so many things and so many demographics and just trying to make it work. I don’t think I’m there yet but obviously, that’s a challenge. And people like me look forward to those challenges and just trying to make it work to where, even if you aren’t Black, you can go, ‘Oh, I know what he’s talking about. I get it. That’s funny.’”
Stokely Hathaway to The Root
Hathaway currently leads the faction “The Firm” in AEW and has previously managed Jade Cargill and “The Baddies” in AEW.
Follow Corey at @CoreyBrennanBS on Twitter
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.ⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘⓘ