The 75th Emmy Awards held at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles was hosted by comedian Anthony Anderson, and a number of our favorite Black celebrities won the golden hardware.
However, the highlight of the Emmy Awards was the all-Black executive production team that delivered a world-class show.
This year’s Emmy ceremony honored the first-ever inclusion of an all-Black executive producer team, in addition to honoring the legacy of iconic television shows.
Leading this remarkable group of players were two vibrant women – President of Jesse Collins Entertainment, Dionne Harmon has a long history in television production and has pushed for diversity in the field alongside Jannie Rouzan-Clay, a seasoned executive producer and a seasoned industry veteran with decades of experience in television production.
In an interview with a news outlet, Harmon said, “As women, we constantly face discrimination and other challenges just by being women. Because of this, in order to succeed in the world, we have had to acquire a special set of abilities. Producing one of the biggest award shows on television requires a variety of abilities, including creativity, fortitude, grace, resourcefulness, and perseverance.”
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Harmon and Rouzan-Clay are women in a traditionally male-dominated field, so they understand the importance of their roles and the potential influence they can have on upcoming generations of women in television.
Simply by her position as a black female executive producer of The Emmys, Harmon says, “The narrative surrounding award shows is changing. A pipeline of creatives will ensure that inclusivity becomes more of the norm and not the exception. Young women and young Black people will see what we are doing and know that it is a real possibility for them.”
“I feel that our contributions, when it comes to thinking of and including women in front of the camera and behind the scenes, are evident when we produce shows. We always ensure that the balance is maintained when presenting ideas to writers, presenters, or performers”, Rouzan-Clay said.
In addition to leading Jesse Collins Entertainment’s Emmys, the duo is actively promoting change in the industry by keeping doors open for others to walk through, whether they choose to work behind or in front of the camera.
“After gaining experience on one of our shows, an individual can apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired to advance in their career within the entertainment industry,” stated Harmon.
The all-black executive producer team’s cooperative efforts were crucial in producing a show that captured the diversity and depth of contemporary television.