Celebrating a Visionary: Issa Rae to receive the Media Trailblazer Award at an Exclusive Evening with the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rafiq Taylor, Public Relations Associate
basslab@usc.edu
(213) 821-3323
LOS ANGELES — January 21, 2026 — On Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 7 PM, the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab will welcome Issa Rae to the University of Southern California as its 2026 Media Trailblazer. An Evening with Issa Rae will feature an onstage conversation led by Dr. Allissa Richardson, founder of the Bass Lab and associate professor at USC Annenberg, followed by a trophy presentation honoring Rae’s impact on media and culture. This free event will take place in the Annenberg School of Communication, Auditorium G26. Additional details can be found HERE.
Issa Rae is an award-winning actress, writer, director, producer, and cultural force. A three-time Golden Globe nominee and seven-time Primetime Emmy nominee, she is best known as the creator and star of HBO’s Insecure and for her role as “President Barbie” in the blockbuster film Barbie. In 2015, Rae published her memoir The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, inspired by her groundbreaking YouTube series Awkward Black Girl.
In 2020, Rae founded Hoorae Media, a production company dedicated to expanding representation on and off screen. Hoorae’s most recent project, One of Them Days, stars Keke Palmer and SZA. Beyond entertainment, Rae is a committed advocate for civil and women’s rights, working alongside organizations such as Black Lives Matter and the ACLU, and consistently using her platform to advance social justice causes.
“Issa Rae embodies what it means to be a media trailblazer,” said Dr. Richardson. “She didn’t wait for permission to tell her stories—she built the platforms that made them impossible to ignore. Her work has reshaped what Black visibility, creativity, and leadership look like across film, television, and digital media. We are thrilled to honor Issa at USC and to celebrate a visionary whose career reflects the enduring spirit of Charlotta Bass.”
Previous recipients of the Media Trailblazer Award include WNBA star and activist Brittney Griner and Grammy-winning artist and actor Common. Each year, the Bass Lab honors a public figure who has leveraged their platform to advance social justice—an ethos that mirrors the legacy of Charlotta Bass herself.
About the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab
For nearly 175 years, Black activists across California, Oregon, and Washington have launched human rights campaigns that reshaped national and global movements—from the Gold Rush era to Black Lives Matter. The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab serves as a living archive and creative hub where students, educators, and the public can explore, study, and honor these enduring contributions.
Through immersive storytelling, community partnerships, and student-centered research, the Bass Lab bridges past and present to illuminate how Black media has shaped public memory, civic engagement, and democratic possibility. By centering voices historically excluded from the archive, the Lab not only preserves history—it activates it, equipping students and audiences alike to better understand the power of media as a tool for justice, accountability, and collective imagination in the digital age.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
For press access or interviews, please contact Rafiq Taylor at rafiqtay@usc.edu.
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