We had the good fortune of connecting with Henry Louis Adams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Henry Louis, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Using my God given gifts and talents in a way that inspires and encourages others, make me happy. As a Child, I was bullied and ridiculed allot. I didn’t have a lot of friends. My creativity was the driving force to keep me going. As long as I was able to write poetry, create a beautiful song, bring a smile to someone’s face, even through my own pain, I got joy and strength from that. Today I am an Actor, Author & Christian Minister. These platforms help me to use my pain and my life experience as a transformative force to encourage and inspire. As an Author, I have been blessed to write two books that take you on an intimate journey of a boy with some real issues, overcome those challenges and blossom into the man that he is today. Writing about this pain allows me to grow while connecting with others that have similar stories. People contact me from all over the world bearing witness to my experiences. I get joy out of knowing that they have been encouraged and inspired. That makes me happy. As a Minister, I have been able to connect with people from all walks of life. I have been able to sit down and listen to their stories. I have also been able to identify with their struggles by sharing my story with them. I have been an advocate for the drug addicted, homeless, at-risk, and sick. Out of my experiences as a child, I would ask God to give me the people that no one else wants. I can identify. I thank God that I can identify. This makes my ministry that much more effective in inspiring and encouraging growth and change in people seeking independence and freedom. As an Actor, I started out as an extra on Tyler Perry “Meet the Browns”. Many years ago, after that experience, I knew that I wanted to go further in that industry. Since my humble beginnings, I have been able to star in several indie films. I have stared in several very popular “True Crime” shows, such as Fatal Attraction, Homicide Hunter, and Murder Calls. These earlier accomplishments prepared me for a role on “David Makes Man”, a one-hour lyrical drama from Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”). I appear in Season 1, Episode 107 as the Minister. The episode is called “Son of Man”. This show airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network as well as streamed on HBO MAX. Throughout my decade in the acting industry, I have had the opportunity to receive emails and social media post from men that are inspired by my story and what I have been allowed to achieve. I have always had a gift for the arts. I just never realized that it would blossom and grow like it has at this stage in my life. I just recently celebrated by 49th Birthday in August. I am so happy that God allowed me to take my pain and make it my purpose. The tears that I cried, the loneliness that I felt, the isolation that I felt trapped in has been defeated by an inner strength that I didn’t know I had. So, with that, I am happy in my faith, family, ministry and career. My toughest experiences prepared me for this stage, and I am grateful.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an artist and there are so many levels to my gift. I write poetry, I am musically inclined, and I love to create, visually. The two books that I penned, came from a place of pain and transition. I was led to take the reader through the journey of what experiences made me the person that I am today. I speak very candidly about my experiences. Writing is therapeutic for me. It helps me to release, evolve, grow and understand life on an intimate level. I am a little black boy from Gresham Road, Atlanta, DeKalb County, Ga. I want to inspire those that are from my hood to know that all things are possible through faith. There was a time when I was being bullied and now, those same bullies are ashamed of the things that they have done and are now watching my accomplishments and being inspired by them. This is a powerful story. I want the world to know that they will be seeing more from me. I have a lot of plans and goals. I want to go as far as my faith will take me. Maybe the Academy Awards, someday. Maybe traveling the world and investing in affordable housing, healthcare and support for at-risk families. We never know what we will be blessed to do.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I have a few fun places that I take my friends when they come to Atlanta. I am such a big kid, I’d take them to the Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It is so funny to see how people react to feeding the animals. To experience animals walking up to you to be fed is so exciting to me. We would also visit Stone Mountain to hike all the way to the top and see the view from the top of the mountain. I am big on history, so, we would have to visit the King Center, the Georgia Aquarium and World of Coke. We would visit the Human Rights museums and the small quaint Apex Museum located in the Sweet Auburn District. We would eat at all of my favorites, Maggiano’s Little Italy, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Cheesecake Factory and the best kept secret, VN Pho, a Vietnamese Noodle House.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this Shoutout to my wife Ellen Adams and my daughter Katelyn Adams. My wife, Ellen has had allot to deal with this past decade. She has pushed, encouraged and supported me through some very tough times. I am so grateful for that, When my daughter was small. She is 14 now. I came home from an audition and was so discouraged. I kicked off my shoes and sat on the floor. My daughter came over to me and said “Daddy”, keep trying, keep trying, Don’t give up, never get up. That sweet encouragement coming from my baby girl renewed my strength and with tears in my eyes, I promised her that I would not give up. My parents Henry & Alma Adams has stood and supported me throughout the years. I would not even be here without their support. I could not have been blessed with better parents.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3769912/?ref_=nmmi_mi_nm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialhenrylouisadams/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/passionatefaith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=674797412

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