“I’m rooting for everybody Black.” - Issa Rae

It was a seemingly off the cuff remark on an Emmy’s Red Carpet event in 2017 but this instantaneous viral quote was really a distillation of Issa Rae’s whole ethos.

Whether it’s co-owning a coffee shop in her own neighborhood, creating two production companies to offer Black and women of color opportunities in spaces dominated by white men, or sourcing Black talent for her show Insecure on HBO, Rae is all in on rooting for Black creativity.

Rae says of the legacy she seeks to achieve, “ I want to be a pop culture staple, a Black pop culture staple. I want to have an impact on my community. Everything I’ve done has been for - and in thinking - of Black people, and I don’t take this moment lightly. I want to do right by us, at the end of the day.”

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