Lena Waithe secured her seat at the table within the entertainment industry after her historic win at the 2017 Emmys for co-writing the episode of Master of None loosely based on her coming out story. Rather than making it a priority to raise her own profile, Waithe has been steadfast in pulling up as many chairs as possible for the creators coming in after her.
“What I want to tell the execs is that there’s more where I come from,” Waithe says.
In December, Waithe announced a mentorship program through her production company Hillman Grad, aimed at accelerating the careers of marginalized storytellers. Waithe followed that with Rising Voices, an initiative in partnership with job hunting site Indeed that gave 10 budding BIPOC filmmakers $100,000 each to produce short films set to debut at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. Waithe also teamed up with fellow artists Janelle Monáe and Cynthia Erivo and public relations firm ID to launch Defining Moments, a paid apprenticeship for up-and-coming entertainment publicists who may have had a more difficult time breaking into the business.
“Our mission is to help people infiltrate the business and to do it in a way that they don’t have to go for broke,” Waithe says. “If you have to come out here and work for free and try to pay rent, of course you’re going to have a bunch of white boys who have trust funds [taking these positions]. For us, it’s how do we level that playing field?”
Waithe even took her mission of discovering underserved talent to the music industry with Hillman Grad Records, a label formed in conjunction with Def Jam. “I’m always looking to partner with people who are in positions of power,” Waithe says. “The cool thing about that is a lot of these guys do trust me. What’s exciting is to see their eyes light up and go, ‘I’m going to take a chance on someone new again.'”
Amid Hillman Grad’s growing roster of initiatives, Waithe is also focused on becoming a better storyteller herself. “The way to do that is to be freer,” she says. “It’s easy to do what people want you to do. But the truth is that becomes hard after a while. You can’t turn away from self with hopes that other people will turn toward you.”
This past year, Waithe received praise for the latest season of Master of None, which she wrote and starred in and that chronicles the bliss and tribulations of a Black lesbian couple. But Waithe also faced backlash toward Them, the Amazon Prime series she executive produced about a Black family that moves into a white neighborhood in the 1950s. Critics felt the violent show exploited Black pain at a particularly fraught moment during America’s ongoing crisis of brutality against the Black community.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Waithe says of the criticism. “Artists that I admire often make work that creates a conversation. It’s not work that you can sit and just watch and forget about. I want you to debate about it.”
Waithe hopes the criticism she’s taken for her work will make the path easier for the next generation of storytellers who look like her. “It’s not about me. It’s about those that are going to be able to come in and tell their story and not have to fight as hard because I did,” Waithe says. “It’s not always fun being first, but I’ll take the hit.”
WATCH: Queer leaders on the impact of the pandemic and the future beyond it
Recognize your brand’s excellence by applying to this year’s Brands That Matter Awards before the final deadline, June 7.
Sign up for Brands That Matter notifications here.
