Group 3: Issa Rae (Margaret & Tiffany)

via Rae's Instagram

Jo-Issa "Issa" Rae Diop is an American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator. Issa felt that there was not enough attention on true and authentic black voices and in turn sought out to create content for voices that are often hidden.

As a college student she started up her own Youtube series where she features various content created by herself and other people of color. Rae's show, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, has garnered over 20 million views on Youtube.

Today, she is working on her television series, Insecure, that premieres on HBO. Some themes she tackles in the show are strong black female friendships, colorism, and white ignorance. As Issa Rae says:"In creating and writing the show, this is not for dudes. It's not for white people. It's the show that I imagined for my family and friends. That's what I think of when I'm writing the scenes.”

Although, Issa Rae has just began her journey, she is already amongst 44 women celebrated in TIMES magazine's #sheisthefirstseries for being the first black woman to create and star in a premium cable series. Her television series, Insecure, has also received a Golden Globe nomination. 

via NewsOne

Additionally, Rae has a two-year HBO First Look production contract. She is working with the network to create more diverse programming. Issa Rae, and author Angela Flournoy, are producing and writing a new show that will center around an African American family living in Los Angeles during the Nineties. It would be highlighting major issues of the time like the crack epidemic, the war on drugs, tough-on-crime policies and gang violence wreaked havoc on many neighborhoods, while long-simmering racial tensions finally erupted in 1992 after four LAPD officers were acquitted of beating Rodney King.

Along with all of the other projects Issa is tackling, she runs her production company. Issa Rae Production is a multi-faceted production company that develops, produces and distributes digital content that usually supports women and minority writers, directors, and producers.

"I want to be a pop culture staple. I want a place in the culture. I want people to reference this show [Insecure] and identify with the characters for years to come,” states Issa Rae.