Exposing a Continuous Need With Diverse Representation
By: Kimberly Grant
Diversity matters. Seeing people who look like you in positions of power, authority, or even privilege can go a long way to boosting the self-esteem and the hope of any group of people. When the machine that is known as Hollywood and beyond was first conceived, it was unfathomable to think that people of color would be represented on screen in a favorable light. One of the major reasons, besides the country still being new to the freedom of all African-Americans, was that there were no people of color making the decisions.
Not much has changed in that regard. According to a McKinsey.com article, the ratio of African-American representation for producers, directors, and writers is between 4% and 6%. This small percentage of Blacks are also responsible for inviting other Black talent, which would not get the same opportunities as their white counterparts.
During the 2022 American Black Film Festival, that took place on South Beach, FL, in early June, Warner Bros. Discovery, in partnership with the Diverse Representation initiative set up a panel of talented actors, directors, producers, and writers to discuss the need for diverse representation. The event was called “Flipping the Script”.
According to their website, Diverse Representation is an organization that seeks to increase the hiring of black agents, attorneys, managers, executives, and publicists in the sports and entertainment fields. Anyone looking to hire diverse can use their database of black professionals. More can be found on the organization’s website; including how black professionals can become members of the database.
Seated on the Flipping the Script panel were: Salli Richardson-Whitfield (actress and TV director recently noted for directing episodes of HBO’s The Gilded Age), Carlos King (a production company owner and the producer of the OWN reality series Love & Marriage: Huntsville), Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins (actress and producer of OWN’s Trials to Triumphs podcast), Diallo Riddle, and Bashir Salahuddin (both men are actors and producers on HBO Max’s South Side). At the ABFF event, the panelists discussed how they broke into the industry, how they handle failures, and what they consider to be their superpowers.
Breaking In
“I started as a production assistant (PA) on BET’s 106 & Park then transitioned to Bravo’s Real Housewives of Atlanta. I decided I wanted to tell our stories. So, I created my own production company. Working alongside Oprah has been a dream come true,” said King. Richardson-Whitfield echoed his sentiment as a woman who color who transitioned from being an actress to directing television episodes. She cites acting as her training ground to prepare her to become a director. She is determined to do as many directing jobs as possible to get experience in all types of genres and media.
Most people who own a Netflix subscription (or borrows it from a friend) knows about the hit show, Dear White People. Featherson-Jenkins was one of the principal characters of the show, playing Joelle Brooks. Although, she’s been appearing in television since 2010, when asked about breaking into the entertainment industry, Featherson-Jenkins talked about her view of the current state of her career. “These days, I constantly feel like I’m being re-introduced, like I haven’t had my big break yet. Despite that, I keep working and people are getting to know me more.” She now has a podcast on OWN, in which the title, Trials to Triumphs, was given Oprah’s personal stamp of approval.
Fail. Then Pivot.
Being famous doesn’t always mean being successful. Make no mistake, every actor – especially if they are people of color – still has to audition for roles and every producer can still be rejected. “I was fired from a Bravo show,” King said about his time on Bravo’s RHOA. “And then a week later I got my dream job. God made room for me.” The panel agreed with his sentiments, encouraging the audience that failure is a part of the process in the entertainment industry. In fact, Salahuddin and Riddle both discussed having a television show being greenlit only to wait a long period of time for it to be made. Then, the producers decided that they didn’t want to do the show anymore.
“Know yourself and what you bring to the table. Many times, successful people are the only ones who know their work is good,” said Top Gun: Maverick actor Salahuddin to the audience about being consistent in their talents. “Then, when it’s successful, everyone pulls up a seat at the table with their plate and their fork. You have to find your own passion and stick with it.” Indeed, many people have found success by remaining consistent and knowing their worth, even if others don’t quite see it yet.
While the above statement is quite encouraging, Featherson-Jenkins had the best advice for the ABFF audience. “I believe in the power of the pivot. Life and career are confusing, things aren’t working. When you’re in a season of confusion, pivot. The door is closed for a reason. There are so many ways to reach your purpose.”
Diverse Heroes to the Rescue
With all of the comic book movies and tv series available to audiences across the world, it’s natural for the subject of superheroes to come up. But this particular question focused on the panelists as real people who do extraordinary things with the talents and opportunities they’ve been given. So, what was their superpower you ask?
Richardson-Whitfield spoke first, saying: “Finding the truth in characters with the actors (playing them) in partnership. The shows are white-driven, because that’s the world I have to navigate. I try to give the black characters dignity by honoring the time period and characters at the same time.” She has directed multiple episodes of The Gilded Age, which includes black characters who are existing in a time period where many African-American people were considered second and third class citizens. Richardson-Whitfield also noted that only a superhero can have the uncomfortable conversations that must be had in order to be true to diverse representation on the screen.
Likewise, King mentioned his superpower being his ability to give black producers a chance to get their executive producer credit on the reality shows produced through his production company. This is no easy feat, considering the landscape of producers has only 6% black representation and getting into the Producers Guild of America is quite hard.
Finding the Representation Where It Matters Most
In terms of diverse representation (the phrase), we still have a long way to go for people of color in front and behind the screen. The gist of the Flipping the Script panel discussion was that lack of representation should not be a deterrent for anyone wanting to break into the industry. Panelists discussed their failures and the triumphs that occurred after what felt like a major setback. They encouraged the audience to keep pushing forward, hone their crafts, and believe in their work; even if no one else does. As a final piece of encouragement, I will leave you with Salahuddin’s words on failure: “You learn from failure. My understanding of failure has evolved. At first, it’s devastating, but I take the big swings because the hard parts are the most rewarding.”
Interested in more entertainment articles? You can read my article on Victoria Aveyard’s fantasy series, Realm Breaker, here.
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