Source: Variety / Getty
Sponsored by Prime Video’s Culture Rated
Storytelling is a powerful tool that can elevate the voices of communities that need to be heard. Throughout history, there have been pioneers who have used that tool to highlight Black culture and Black experiences. In collaboration with Amazon Prime, MADAMENOIRE is celebrating these Black film and TV icons who have paved the way for others to tell their stories through this series, Black = Culture. We honor Neema Barnette and Regina King.
Neema Barnette is a director and producer from New York. She was the first Black woman to direct a prime-time sitcom when she worked on What’s Happening Now! and the first to sign a three-picture deal with a major motion picture studio.
Barnette also founded her own production company, Harlem Girl Productions, and is known for her work on top shows and films like The Cosby Show and Zora Is My Name.
Barnette’s stand-out work has earned her an Emmy Award, two NAACP awards and a Sundance Film Award.
Regina King is a director, actor and producer known for her roles on television shows 227, Watchmen, The Boondocks and hit films like Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, The Harder They Fall. She is a force to be reckoned with on and off camera.
This multi-talented star has directed music videos for top artists and had a directorial role in award-winning shows like This is Us and Insecure.
King was the second Black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe for her work on One Night in Miami.
Appropriately, Time Magazine named King one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
MN celebrates these women for continuing to be icons of Black talent and bringing Black stories to major television and film projects.
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