Issa Rae Is Building an Inclusive Entertainment Industry

In June, at a packed theater in the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès—the epicenter of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—producer, writer, actress and entrepreneur Issa Rae sat across from Ogilvy global chief creative officer Liz Taylor. Poised and endearing, the Insecure creator was there to chat about bias in advertising and media. As an in-demand creative who has turned various projects into major opportunities for marginalized talent to work in show business, Rae—who last December concluded her hit HBO comedy Insecure (which she co-created and starred in)—is uniquely suited to carry these conversations in any forum. In fact, she encouraged the hundreds of marketing experts in the theater to adopt her own standards for inclusion by revealing her mandate of at least 60% diverse crews on any set that she works. "That comes from realizing my own power," she told Taylor and the audience. "I can say no to a job if the crew is all white, which happens all the time. How is this still happening, and how do you want me to be your spokesperson for diversity when the people behind are not diverse?" Conversely, these frequent DEI conversations, for which the multi-hyphenate receives many invites to participate, tend to place the onus of educating the white masses on people like Rae, a Black woman who is intimately acquainted with the importance of inclusion and equity. "We task diverse people to spread the word about diversity when we know what it is already," she explained candidly. To support this notion, one only needs to look at her steadily expanding portfolio of original work, all of which bears similar marks of a creator with a natural eye for thoughtful storytelling. Nuanced portrayals of young Black women set against a modern-day backdrop? Check. Strong yet complex female friendships at the heart of each narrative? Absolutely. An undercurrent of the very hip-hop culture that shaped her as a person? Yes, and there's probably a banging soundtrack to prove it. The major takeaway here: Whether you're replaying an installment of her career-sparking, 11-year-old web series Awkward Black Girl or streaming the recently wrapped first season of her HBO Max original comedy Rap Sh!t (which was renewed for a second season), Rae has long mastered the art of telling a relatable story through an inclusive lens, building something that is all at once culturally relevant and still accessible to all. "What I'm coming to terms with right now in [regard to] the work that I want to reflect is, I want to feel present," Rae told Adweek. "I like creating a reflection of the times. I like holding a camera up and adding my filter to what's culturally resonant with me." Beyond TV and film, Rae carries her mission of inclusion through various brand partnerships geared toward providing resources or opportunities for underrepresented creatives and entrepreneurs. American Express, clothing brand Madewell and PepsiCo's Lifewtr are part of a growing list of brands that have aligned themselves with the Emmy-nominated performer in order to take visible steps toward equity, which speaks to her already cemented reputation of inclusion and empowerment. It's that legacy and inarguable influence that make Rae the ideal honoree for Adweek and Adcolor's fourth annual Beacon Award. Rae spoke to Adweek about her community-building approach to creativity. Issa's Endless Inclusivity As Adweek’s 2017 Young Influential cover star, Rae said she had a lot of goals for the future, including finding the best way to use her voice. Since then, she’s found multiple brand partnerships that have allowed her to a make an impact in a unique way. American Express In September 2021, the entrepreneur partnered with American Express to promote ByBlack, a dedicated certification program to aid Black-owned businesses. Google Rae’s audio company, Raedio, announced a partnership with Google at the top of 2022. The effort was designed to increase the representation of women of color in the music industry. Lifewtr With the PepsiCo brand, Rae launched the “Life Unseen” campaign, which worked to increase inclusion within the arts. Marginalized creatives earned the chance to win a $10,000 grant and mentorship from the star herself. Madewell The clothing brand connected with Rae’s production company, ColorCreative, for its spring 2021 campaign “What Are You Made Of?” The production team featured underrepresented writers and creatives of color, keeping inclusion at the heart of the work. CoverGirl After becoming an official CoverGirl brand ambassador, Rae was able to use her partnership with the legacy cosmetics brand as a platform to talk about the necessity of diverse makeup options. (This interview has been condensed and edited.) Adweek: More than 11 years since its debut, Awkward Black Girl still resonates as one of the first indie works starring a Black woman that explored the entertainment potential of YouTube. What was the YouTube landscape like at that time?Issa Rae: When I started Awkward Black Girl, for me, there weren't a lot of web series that catered toward Black people. Young white college kids were making web series. There were lots of skits, animal videos and things like that. But the narrative lane was kind of wide open. I'd had the idea in my head for a very long time, but I was scared to do it. Firstly, I wanted to make it animated but didn't have the funds to make that happen. Secondly, in pursuing the live-action version [I knew I was] going to be playing the character, and I was not prepared for any potential online criticism that I was going to get as a dark-skinned woman with no hair. I was scared of what the response was going to be, regardless of whether or not I thought it was funny. But I overcame those fears because I was complaining all the time about what I'm not seeing on television. This was my opportunity to say, "If I can do it, then why isn't television doing it?" I overcame those fears because I was complaining all the time about what I'm not seeing on television. This was my opportunity to say, 'If I can do it, then why isn't television doing it?' For a lot of Black creators, artists like you and Quinta Brunson really helped build the internet-to-screen pipeline that many of today's creators can only dream of. As you've watched the social media landscape evolve since your debut, do you feel like the path you've created for yourself is still possible today?Oh, 100%. Primarily because agents and managers have been kind of trained now to find content online, where it's fed to them on a silver platter. That is their advice to creatives: Put something online. [Film producer] Charles King put out a video where he was like, "Go make something online, and we are going to find you. That's how I found this project, because I am looking for you and I am looking for that content online." So it is 100% feasible. Now it's about building your audience and getting people to support you. People are cognizant of that, but so many people understand this now that it's a little bit harder to rise through the ranks. But it is entirely possible, especially if you're good at the internet. The difference between me and Quinta is that she is good as fuck at the internet. For me, I got lucky early on and was more focused on building communities because that's what I felt like I was good at. Starting from Facebook onward, I [was] building these communities of friends and allies and actively engaging. And she is really funny and earnestly strategic in a way that I admire. Having worked at BuzzFeed and having been in this space in a different way, I feel like she's so smart. She was able to use Instagram in a way that nobody else was using it. Now there's an opportunity for others to do the same things on their respective platforms. Obviously there are huge TikTok stars that are emerging, and we'll see who the next person to make that transition to television and film is going to be. It's still hard, but it's possible depending on whatever medium you choose. Your ability to build and nurture communities throughout your career is part of this lift-as-you-climb approach where you bring along people you've worked with in the past while creating access for creators to come in behind you. How do you feel that approach has benefited your work the most?It keeps me sane and in a happy place just by way of being around people who I'm comfortable with and whose work I admire and respect. Whether it is the present or next generation of talent, it is only making me sharper. It isn't a charity case—in my mind, these people are extremely talented and just need a platform. And on a macro scale, now we have more capable people of color in these positions so that Hollywood can't be like, "We can't find the next co-[executive producer], [executive producer] or cinematographer." It's like we're giving them a training ground and the resumé to be able to go for these bigger projects. That benefits me in the long run because then they're bringing other people on, and the network of capable talent of color is widening. Emmy-nominated comedy Insecure cemented Rae as a go-to creator of premium, inclusive television. Are you still finding those same learning opportunities for yourself in the projects that you're taking part in today?I'm learning so much. I don't know a lot on the business or even production sides. I've learned how much even [executive producer and showrunner] Prentice Penny took on while we were on Insecure that I ultimately had to take on during Rap Sh!t. I'm determined to get better, but that was eye-opening to me, how much I still don't know and have to learn. I welcome the challenge. With HBO Max original comedy Rap Sh!t, Miami and female-led hip-hop get their moment in the spotlight. Your brand partnerships really reflect that community ethos as well, between your work with American Express uplifting Black businesses and your previous partnership with Lifewtr, which provided resources and mentorship for marginalized creators. Do you have a guiding philosophy when it comes to the brands that you decide to partner with?I have to actively like the brands and appreciate what it is that they're trying to contribute, whether it's culturally or to the creative communities. I say no so quickly, and I say no to a lot. If it's an opportunity to benefit other creators or put money in people of color's pockets, then I tend to listen with an open ear. And then [I learn] about what the creative is, the brand and what they've done in the past. But, yeah, it's nothing for me to say no. When it comes to representation and inclusion in Hollywood, it can often feel as if we've been having this conversation for a millennia. Additionally, your name often comes up as an example of what inclusion could look like when someone's given the runway to create. From your perspective, what is preventing this conversation from moving forward?It's so funny—and I tell this story all the time—when I was first starting out, around 2011, I was getting invited to panels. I was telling my mom how excited I was and she said, "That's great. What's the subject matter?" I was like, "We're just talking about how important it is to have diversity in these spaces." And she was like, "They're still talking about that? They were talking about that in the '80s." And she's so right. I don't know what has to change. I think these conversations have to be mandated in the white community. I said this at [the Cannes Lions fireside chat]: You're preaching to the choir. Of course, Black and brown people are going to have a perspective on why there needs to be diversity because you're talking about including us. But in many cases, we don't have that power. So white people have to have these conversations about why it's important, and it has to affect their bottom line. If it doesn't affect their bottom line, there's no incentive. And that goes across the board for anything in this country. It's always gonna come down to money. White people have to have these conversations about why [DEI is] important, and it has to affect their bottom line. If it doesn't affect their bottom line, there's no incentive. When you spoke to Adweek in 2017 for our Young Influentials issue, you talked a lot about your goals, from making movies to launching a studio to having political influence. Three years later, you founded Hoorae Media, which allows you to do all of that. Ten years from now, what do you hope the legacy of Hoorae Media will be?I wanna have a huge impact on creatives of color—and that's something we're actively doing—but I also want to be a global brand. I want to be a global company that's Black, woman-led [and can] compete with some of the best production and media companies. And I still want to have morals with my shit. I feel like so many global media companies don't at the end of the day. It is a hard line to toe because this is all capitalistic at the end of the day. So I'm trying to move with integrity within my communities and have some respect without toeing the line of exploitation. That's something I think about constantly: how far to go. It's not something that other people who have these companies think about in the same way, I don't think. I never want to feel like I'm exploiting people, especially us.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Issa Rae Does More Than Talk About an Inclusive Entertainment Industry—She Builds It

Adweek and Adcolor's 2022 Beacon Award winner has always had DEI in her DNA

Shannon Miller

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Shannon Miller