Sheryl Lee Ralph on SAG-AFTRA Strike & Giving Back to Teachers (Exclusive)

“Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph is helping give back to real-life teachers as back-to-school season is in full swing!

“Extra” spoke with Ralph, who also spoke about hitting the picket lines amid the SAG-AFTRA strike and her new documentary short “Unexpected,” about women living with HIV and AIDS.

Sheryl is part of the SAG-AFTRA negotiating committee. She stressed, “We’re fighting for livable wages that keep up with the time and we are not talking about the top 1 or 10% of the union. We are talking about the 80% of our union that are plain working-class people who need a good contract.”

Ralph plays a teacher on TV, but she’s also passionate about helping real-life teachers too. She noted, “1,000 teachers across the country, 1,000, are going to get an extra $200 that they can spend in and on their classrooms.”

She is teaming up with Made Good Foods for a campaign to help teachers buy school supplies for needy students and to encourage kids to eat healthier snacks.

Sheryl stressed, “What we want people to do right now is to go to MadeGoodFoods.com and nominate a teacher.”

Growing up, teachers had a big impact on Sheryl, especially her father.

Ralph pointed out, “My dad broke the barrier, when there was no room for teachers of color and as a Black male teacher, he was like, ‘Representation is important.’ Students need to see themselves in all aspects of life, especially in the classroom.”

Sheryl carried lessons from her dad through life, which may be why she’s nominated for a second Emmy for her role on “Abbott Elementary.”

She shared, “When your peers come together and vote you as one of the best. For them to do it for me, and with me this second time around is just, I’m so, so thankful.”

Ralph is also giving back by partnering with Project Angel Food, which brings meals and hope to people who are seriously ill. She said, “When we put people first, this is when real change happens.”

Sheryl is also raising awareness on women battling AIDS and HIV in her documentary short “Unexpected.” She lost friends to the disease.

Of the doc, she noted, “Here are these two women, two young Black women with an unexpected HIV diagnosis.”