Actress-writer Issa Rae is coming to the Rialto Center for the Arts.
The star, co-creator and producer of HBO’s hit comedy series “Insecure” is not visiting to perform but rather to encourage aspiring lawyers by sharing her rags-to-riches story.
Rae is joining George State University law professor and Fulton County Commissioner Moraima “Mo” Ivory Thursday for a live conversation about her entertainment career and evolution into a businessperson. The public event is one of the final 2024 meetings of Ivory’s GSU law class, titled “The Legal Life of,” which examines entertainers’ negotiations, partnerships, cases and investments.
“The girls are going to sit down and talk about deals, and how she’s managed to go into an industry that can chew you up and spit you out,” Ivory told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “She has created an empire for herself, and we’re going to find out how she did it.”
Credit: Alex Acosta
Credit: Alex Acosta
Rae rose to prominence in 2011 with her YouTube web series “The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl.” It helped her land a deal with HBO, where “Insecure” was produced for five seasons until 2021.
Her production company, Hoorae Media, signed an eight-figure development deal with WarnerMedia prior to the show’s ending. She has since started a haircare line, Sienna Naturals, and a sparkling wine brand, Viarae prosecco.
Ivory normally structures her course around artists who either live or built their careers in Georgia. She said she wanted this semester to focus on Rae, an enterprising Black woman who’s not a Georgia native but is making power moves in entertainment.
“The industry is so dominated by men, and that’s been most of the subjects in the course,” she said. “I wanted to pick a female that I admired and somebody who was changing the way that Hollywood is doing business.”
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia State University
Credit: Courtesy of Georgia State University
Ivory, a practicing entertainment attorney, directs GSU’s Entertainment, Sports and Media Law initiative. Her students spent 13 weeks looking over agreements for Rae’s web and television productions, along with feature films like “Barbie” and “American Fiction,” and brand partnerships with companies like American Express.
“This is the first class where every single contract was the actual artist agreement,” Ivory said. “The students get to see how real deals actually happen and what a real entertainment lawyer for Issa Rae has been doing for the last 10 years.”
The semester included guest lectures from Rae’s mother, siblings, network executives and members of her staff. One group assignment involved students reviewing lawsuits against the Barbie doll brand and representing the toy company in a mock trial.
Credit: Georgia State University College of Law
Credit: Georgia State University College of Law
Ivory said the class is meant to be practical and relevant. “The students want to be able to talk that talk. You can’t learn how to be a lawyer from just studying cases,” she said.
“You have to get into what people are actually doing and what’s happening right now. The more familiar they can become with the language, the faster they’ll be able to master them and be able to start representing clients.”
In 2019, Ivory debuted the class with rapper-actor Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges. The course has since looked into the careers of entertainers Kandi Burruss, Steve Harvey and Rick Ross, and businesses tied to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Student Melanie Sallis said she appreciates how Ivory exposes students to real-life settings.
“Professor Ivory’s Issa Rae course offers another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from one of entertainment’s biggest writers, actors and artists. I’m grateful for her innovative teaching and dedication to creating opportunities for students who may never have these experiences without her,” Sallis said.
Credit: Alex Acosta
Credit: Alex Acosta
Alissa Williams, who’s expected to earn her Juris Doctor in May 2025, says Ivory made the curriculum accessible through her detailed explanations and incorporating various points of view from Rae’s inner circle.
“She breaks down contracts in ways that allow you to see the real-world implications of complex legal terms. I’ll leave with a wide range of perspectives on how a businesswoman took a vision and turned it into a career that’s provided people of color with opportunities, in a field where we are constantly undervalued.”
Ivory says student engagement with the course material usually causes the class to run beyond its scheduled time.
“We’re supposed to have a class that runs from 6 until 8:30 p.m., but we never leave before 9:15 or 9:20.” she said. “Students always have more questions, want to learn and dive a little deeper.”
Credit: Alex Acost
Credit: Alex Acost
Ivory hopes the class continues to empower aspiring attorneys and creatives to pursue their passions and have their own affairs in order.
“You can create, achieve things and do anything that you want to do, and Issa Rae is an example of that,” she said.
“I continue to teach the class to show people that things really can happen by just doing good business.”
6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. Rialto Center for the Arts, 80 Forsyth Street NW, Atlanta. 404-413-9849. GSU.Qualtrics.com
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