Art & Culture

The Rise of the Black Indie Producer

In the face of the de-prioritization of DEI within arts and media, Black artists have continued to create their long-standing tradition of working from the margins of mainstream traditional spaces. Their self-created platforms, initiatives, and infrastructure are creating a blueprint for all outsider artists to follow.

By Kathleen Anaza

Hollywood’s Brief DEI Era

Art is supposed to encapsulate the past while providing social commentary and developing a collective narrative of the present. Art is activism that challenges society. While we valorize the role of art in society, our arts and media institutions are not living up to art’s revolutionary capacity. Mainstream media and art institutions in the US are reactionary, not revolutionary, when it comes to creators of color. They wait until creatives have paved their way, creating their own subcultures, growing their audience, and developing new talent before they are acknowledged.

In the Summer of 2020, the powder keg of US social tensions exploded in the wake of George Floyd’s extrajudicial execution and the onset of COVID-19. As with all industries, arts and media had to reckon with public calls for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that were long overdue. Public statements, pledges, and commitments were made across media and art sectors to make tangible improvements to diversify executive leadership, amplify artists of color, and extend artistic opportunities to marginalized communities.

Today, much of this momentum has diminished or regressed. In the face of the de-prioritization of DEI within arts and media, Black artists have continued to create their long-standing tradition of working from the margins of mainstream traditional spaces. Their self-created platforms, initiatives, and infrastructure are creating a blueprint for all outsider artists to follow.

Artists Transforming Hollywood

Since the early 20th century, Black creators established vehicles to disseminate their art. Black production companies emerged to serve artists from the Lincoln Motion Picture Company to Foster Photoplay. Even after Black creators entered mainstream media, they’ve operated as outsiders on the margins, with their inclusion subject to trending sentiments. Black creators adapted to Hollywood’s inconsistent nature and are building long-lasting infrastructure that guarantees Black creators and other creators of color platforms for their art. ARRAY, Hoorae Media, and Monkeypaw Productions are Black creator-led media companies trailblazing a path for creators navigating the margins.

ARRAY is a multiplatform arts and social impact collective founded by filmmaker and producer Ava DuVernay in 2011. Born from her struggle to obtain distribution for her debut film, ARRAY distributes DuVernay’s work. It also amplifies Black artists and filmmakers of color to change their narratives through four different branches: ARRAY Releasing, ARRAY Filmworks, ARRAY Crew, and ARRAY Alliance.

ARRAY Releasing is the distribution branch that has distributed over 45 domestic and international films, including Deepa Mehta’s FUNNY BOY and Samuel “Blitz” Bazawule’s THE BURIAL OF KOJO, for independent filmmakers of color. In ARRAY Filmworks, DuVernay’s storytelling as a producer and director is voiced through film, television, and audio. She produced acclaimed, culture-shifting stories in her series When They See Us and Queen Sugar and poignant, Emmy-winning documentary 13TH.

ARRAY Crew is a personnel database connecting film and television production teams with access to below-the-line crew professionals from diverse backgrounds. ARRAY Alliance is the company’s nonprofit arm that utilizes programming to mentor and fund creators while educating and providing access to impacted, underserved communities. It addresses the structural roadblocks for creators and audiences to utilize art’s social justice potential. It’s also developing the talent pipeline from marginalized communities to mainstream opportunities. From every angle, ARRAY applies action-based methods, community organizing, and allocation of resources to create an infrastructure for the next generation of creators of color. DuVernay is a prime example of how creators of color have to extend their scope of work beyond their trade to promote their art form.

Another force in this movement is Hoorae Media, an entertainment media company founded by multihyphenate Issa Rae. It encompasses multiple media ventures, such as film + TV, digital, Raedio, and ColorCreative. Hoorae’s Film + TV division successfully created Insecure and executive co-produced other HBO Max series like A Black Lady Sketch Showand Project Greenlight: A New Generation. The Digital division works in tandem with film + TV. It provides creator-focused digital content and facilitates virtual conversations and community building across digital platforms like YouTube and Patreon. This content amplifies and supports Film + TV products. Digital also works to create a pipeline between creators of color and the digital platform partners.

Raedio is their all-inclusive audio company, functioning as a music label, publishing, music supervision, music library, podcasts, digital content, and events division for artists creating audio content. Rae is known for incorporating music in her TV productions, and this division connects musicians with opportunities to integrate their art across multiple services and platforms.

Finally, Color Creative is their management division dedicated to supporting diverse creators and producing inclusive content. Its focus is creating a direct-to-industry pipeline for women and minority writers, especially multihyphenates with authentic storytelling and POVs. They help creatives build their business brands, obtain partnerships, and engage in community building to garner more opportunities.

Another major player in this movement is Monkeypaw Productions, founded by multihyphenate Jordan Peele. Monkeypaw created a space where underrepresented, avant-garde artists can challenge conventional genre storytelling, unpack social issues, and create visionary world-building with thought-provoking projects across film, television, and digital platforms. Under Monkeypaw, Peele released critically acclaimed films, “Get Out,” “Us,” and “Nope.” They have also produced genre-pushing work by other directors of color like Nia DaCosta’s “Candyman” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman,” Executive producer for numerous television series, including Hunters, Lovecraft Country, and The Twilight Zone.

Monkeypaw Productions partners with local businesses outside of film and television that align with its ethos and sell its products on its website. They’ve partnered with Hot & Cool Cafe (Black-owned and operated coffee shop) that fosters Black-centered arts and culture, plant-based foods, and employment opportunities in South Central LA. As well as partnered with Crenshaw Coffee Co. to create The Monkeypaw Blend.

Outsiders’ Industry Impact

More creators of color are following these blueprints, building their own companies to develop, produce, and star in quality, original content. Donald Glover’s Gilga, Dev Patel’s Minor Realm, Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media, and John Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions. Traditional media’s response to more empowered creatives differs across the board. Some legacy companies like Fox are shifting to more creator-focused models with streaming platform Tubi.  WB Discovery, however, is returning to an executive-centered model.

Tubi is FOX’s ad-supported, free streaming platform, the most watched in the US. Its viewership is strong amongst young, multicultural audiences, often reaching unreachable, unduplicated audiences. Tubi focuses on offering a broad catalog ranging from nostalgic favorites to new original content. Tubi caters to millennials and Gen Z audiences by supporting niche creators who tell new and diverse stories.

In response, Tubi is investing in creating original content through partnered initiatives such as Stubios and To Be Commissioned.” Stubios is a studio for aspiring filmmakers where their fans hold power. Stubios collaborates with Issa Rae’s ColorCreative, allowing audiences to greenlight what content and creators Stubios platforms, not studio executives. It prioritizes the requests of young, diverse audiences seeking direct interactions with smaller creators and original stories. It will help create pathways for diverse outsider artists to enter Hollywood and a way for advertisers to reach much sought-after younger audiences.

Tubi’s other initiative, “To Be Commissioned,” is a partnership with Black List where emerging and established writers can submit their screenplays to be developed, produced, and distributed by Tubi. This initiative reflects Tubi’s commitment to amplifying diverse storytelling and original content. They’ve made provisions for underrepresented communities, like fee waivers for evaluations and one month of hosting for 200 writers.

Tubi has taken the approach of extending opportunities to emerging creators of color and platforming their original content. The merger of Warner Media and Discovery Networks to form Warner Bros. Discovery (a media conglomerate) has left many creators feeling even more discarded and unempowered than before. The merger of these platforms caused multiple rounds of disowning of WB content, returning or redistribution of content rights of acclaimed series  (The Minx, Westworld) or various free-streaming platforms, or outright shelving of completed projects (i.e., Batgirl)  to save money during restructuring. These mergers have disproportionately impacted creators of color.

Restructuring is coming at a time when Wall Street’s impact on creative industries and executives’ decision-making is becoming dominant, diverse, cutting-edge art and storytelling are seen as risky. Even established creators, such as Issa Rae, who have partnerships with HBO, are not protected. After the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, three of her award-winning HBO projects were canceled. Rae stated in an interview, “You’re seeing so many Black shows get canceled, you’re seeing so many executives — especially on the DEI side — get canned. You’re seeing very clearly now that our stories are less of a priority,”

Independence is the Future

At times like these, both established and emerging artists see investing in their platforms and infrastructure as the best way to protect their art. Industry leaders like ARRAY, Hoorae, and Monkeypaw Productions have continued the models set generations before by Oprah Winfrey (OWN Network), Tyler Perry ( Tyler Perry Studios), and Hollywood took notice and began bridging the gap between the outsider and the mainstream. However, the industry’s status today reminds them never to lose that independence that came into the industry. As Rae proclaims, “I can’t force you to make my stuff. It’s made me take more steps to try to be independent down the line if I have to.” For creators of color, maintaining their outsider POV and independence is the only way to not succumb to fickle Hollywood.

The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab is committed to documenting and amplifying creators forging independent paths; you can donate to support that work.

About the Author

Unsung Black Press

The Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab at USC Annenberg is a pioneering research and teaching initiative that is dedicated to preserving the rich legacy of Black media makers. Our series, Unsung Black Press, focuses on little known West Coast Black journalism pioneers who have shaped the field, from the time of abolition to today.

View profile