African-American Television Writers: Breaking Barriers & Creating History

The Power Couple: Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil
Dynamic duo Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil are perhaps best known for their combined talents on “Girlfriends” and “The Game,” for which Mara was the writer and executive producer and Salim acted as director. Mara’s writing and producing credits stretch to include “South Central,” “Moesha,” “The Jamie Foxx Show” and, more recently, “Cougartown.” The Akils earned fiercely loyal fans who supported “The Game” in its move from being a network series to a cable series. They recently signed a very promising three-year scripted programming deal with BET, coinciding with the Salim’s directorial feature debut “Jumping the Broom.”

The Script Engineer: Saladin Patterson
Brainy MIT grad Saladin Patterson studied engineering years before breaking into the industry through a Disney-ABC writing fellowship. Patterson drew on his rigorous academic background when becoming a TV writer, adapting it to fit television’s group brainstorming process and tight deadlines. Patterson has written and produced for “The Bernie Mac Show” and for “Frasier,” a “dream job” for him at the time, having been a huge fan. He has also served as writer and co-executive producer of USA Network’s “Psych,” a unique comedy/drama about a private investigator with uncanny observation abilities who helps police solve crimes under the guise of having psychic abilities.

Doctorate in Girl Power: Felicia D. Henderson
What do the spunky twins of “Sister Sister,” the talented teen Moesha and the wealthy and mysterious “it” girl Serena van der Woodsen of “Gossip Girl” all have in common? In addition to being compelling female characters, they were all imagined by Felicia D. Henderson, who has written for and produced, often at the executive level, all of the shows above. Henderson, a California native with roots in Mississippi, has an endowed screenwriting scholarship in her name at UCLA, where she is earning her PhD in Cinema and Media Studies.

No Laughing Matter: Denitria “Dee” Harris-Lawrence
In a field where African-Americans have been traditionally seen as comedic talent, breaking into television drama is no easy feat. Denitria “Dee” Harris-Lawrence has done just that. Her work goes back to the days of “New York Undercover,” and extends to current dramas like “Officers on Duty,” “Summerland,” “Saving Grace” and “Detroit 1-8-7.”

Family Drama Mama: Kathleen McGhee-Anderson
Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, whose writing credits herald back to the grassy fields of “Little House on the Prairie,” has distinguished herself as writer and executive producer of “Lincoln Heights,” itself a rarity as a prime time series featuring an African-American family with hard-hitting story lines. It took her 20 years to sell a version of this show, showing the tenacious spirit a black television writer, especially of drama, must possess.

Street Storyteller: David Mills
David Mills, who sadly passed just last year, masterminded gritty dramas like “The Corner,” “Kingpin” (a miniseries) and “Treme.” He also wrote for “Homicide: Life on the Streets,” “NYPD Blue” and “The Wire.” Mills broke ground on the executive level in the early ’90s as a co-producer of “ER” and “NYPD Blue.” He will be sorely missed.

The Exec: Janine Sherman Barrois
Janine Sherman Barrois has written and produced, many times at the executive level, dramatic shows like “Criminal Minds,” “ER” and “Third Watch.” She was nominated for an NAACP image award in 2011 for her work on “Criminal Minds.”

The Black Track: Jacque Edmonds Cofer
Despite industry admonishments to African-American writers to aim for the mainstream, it is possible to build a career based on an all-black cast show – as Jacque Edmonds Cofer has done. “Martin,” “Living Single,” “Moesha,” “Abby,” “All About the Andersons” and BET’s “Let’s Stay Together” all owe their success to Cofer’s writing and producing. Cofer has received NAACP Image awards and has been recognized for her service outside of showbiz. Cofer and her husband James Cofer, Jr. also develop faith-based film projects through their venture ChristianCinema.

Soap Writers Making Scenes: Michele Val Jean, Susan Dansby & Aida Croal
Few know the contributions blacks have made to this cornerstone of daytime television. “General Hospital” writer Michele Val Jean was the first black head writer of a daytime soap, and won four daytime Emmys for her efforts. Award-winning scribe Susan Dansby wrote for “As the World Turns” for a decade. Plus, Aida Croal has been a writer for “One Life To Live” for the past four years. Yet, these black writers are rare in this niche. Could daytime drama producers have rendered their story lines out of touch with the diverse masses by keeping their writers’ room too homogenous, thus contributing to the soap opera’s demise? Only time will tell.

Comic Genius: Aaron McGruder
Aaron McGruder took “The Boondocks” from a being a controversial comic strip to being a hugely successful animated series, ruffling feathers and causing an Uncle Ruckus along the way. As the writer of “The Boondocks” show on Adult Swim, McGruder uses his platform to stir discussions about issues ranging from immigration to the popularity of Tyler Perry.

Queen of Quirk: Angela Nissel
Angela Nissel wrote and produced for the offbeat comedy series “Scrubs,” rising to the level of co-executive producer, and was a consulting producer for the equally offbeat comedy “‘Til Death.”  Nissel also drew on her biracial background and experiences as a struggling writer living on a shoetring budget when she wrote the books “Mixed” and “The Broke Diaries,” both of which have been optioned by Halle Berry.

Cool With Kids: Maisha Closson
Maisha Closson’s first writing credit was on the Holly Robinson Peete multiracial comedy “For Your Love.” She went on to write for “Becker,” “That’s So Raven,” “Rodney” and “About a Girl.” Closson currently writes for MTV’s envelope-pushing adolescent drama “Skins,” based on the seminal UK show. We can’t wait to see where her imagination will take us next.

Transition Man: Peter Saji
Comic strip artist-turned-TV writer Peter Saji has written for “Cavemen” and Courtney Cox’s “Cougartown,” in addition to scripting several video games. Like Saladin Patterson, Peter Saji also benefited from a Disney-ABC fellowship as he advanced his career. A writing career with this many transitions shows that it can pay off if one dares to dream.

Harvard Humorist: Aisha Muharrar
A native of Bay Shore, New York, Aisha Muharrar has written for the off-color animated FOX show “Sit Down Shut Up.” She currently writes for “Parks and Recreation,” pushing her own brand of you-had-to-be-there humor. A graduate of Harvard, where she led a major humor publication, Muharrar is also the author of the book “More Than a Label.”

Bringing the Best to TBS: Ali LeRoi
Ali LeRoi developed the Ice Cube movie “Are We There Yet” for television and since then, the vehicle starring Terry Crews and Essence Atkins has taken off. An industry veteran, he was also a writer, director, co-creator and producer of “The Chris Rock Show.”

Rebel-With-a-Clause: Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry struck gold as creator of TBS family hits “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne.” The Talented Mr. Perry got some shade thrown at him by insiders, but still managed to lead “House of Payne” to break viewership records for a cable sitcom. In 2008, Perry’s comedies came with a touch of drama when “House of Payne” writers teamed up with the Writers Guild of America to file an unfair labor practice complaint. As a result, Tyler Perry Studios became a signatory to a WGA contract allowing his writers to be unionized. Who knew the writer was also a revolutionary?

Black Movie Magic on the Small Screen: Paris Qualles
The power of movies is not limited to what we see in theaters. Black writers have been making their mark in made-for-television movies for years. Paris Qualles, who has also written for various series, was the scribe behind “The Ditchdigger’s Daughters,” “The Color of Friendship,” “The Tuskegee Airmen” starring Laurence Fishburne, “The Rosa Parks Story” starring Angela Bassett, and most recently the “Raisin in the Sun” adaptation starring Sean “P Diddy” Combs.

Black TV Movie Writers: Politics With a Pen
Black writers have used television as a medium for telling historically-based dramas and promoting themes of racial tolerance. Tina Andrews penned the scripts for “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal” and “Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis,” both of which she also produced. Ruben Santiago-Hudson was the force behind HBO’s “Lackawanna Blues.” Writers known for their series work, Shonda Rhimes, Denitria “Dee” Harris-Lawrence and Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, took to the keyboard to give birth to “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,” “For One Night” and “The Color of Courage,” respectively.

You’ve Come a Long Way, Lady: Winifred Hervey
Black women in television have faced the double-edged sword of racism and sexism, but have managed to break down barriers through their creativity and persistence. Take Winifred Hervey. Her early writing credits go back to “Laverne & Shirley” and “Mork & Mindy.” She went on to write and produce for “The Golden Girls,” as well as to executive produce “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “In the House,” and “The Steve Harvey Show.”

More Black Women Trailblazing in Television
Vida Spears was writing for TV since Tootie rolled around on skates, and she later became a top producer for shows like “Moesha,” “The Parkers” and “Family Matters.” Sara V. Finney started out on “The Jeffersons,” and went on to executive produce for “The Parkers,” and more recently to write for “The Game.” These pioneers certainly paved the way for Rhimes, Akil and many more.

More Ground Breakers: The ’70s, ’80s & Beyond
Another early cadre of African-American TV writers shot to the top in the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, paving the way for folks today: Ralph Farquhar (“Happy Days,” “Fame,” “Married With Children,” “Moesha” and “The Sinbad Show,” to name a few); Matt Robinson (“Sesame Street,” “The Cosby Show,” “Amazing Grace”); Thad Mumford (“That’s My Mama,” “Maude,” “MASH,” “A Different World”); Bill Boulware (“227,” “Benson,” “He’s the Mayor,” “New Attitude”); Daryl Nickens (“Webster,” “227”); Susan Fales (“A Different World,” “Linc’s”), and  Samm-Art Williams (“Franks Place,” “Fresh Prince,” “Hanging with Mr. Cooper”). These writers are all important pioneers who paved the difficult road we still tread on the path to increasing television diversity.

Olu Gittens is a writer and filmmaker based in New York City. You can see her web series “CHOICES”” at ohgeeproductions.com.