WATCH: The Legacy Of Raamla Mohamed Tribute

Raamla Mohamed Visionary Award.

Transcript

00:00This is my karma for hurting you.

00:08I was hurt long before you.

00:14As a showrunner and a writer, it's very important to me that black women are represented.

00:19I, of course, am a black woman, and growing up I didn't know any showrunners or writers.

00:25I didn't even know this was a job that could be offered to me or something that I could do.

00:29A single film class at Columbia University ignited Ramallah Mohammed's passion for storytelling.

00:35Trusting her intuition, she stepped away from her economics major to immerse herself in film and English.

00:42She brought her stories to life on New York's off-Broadway stages until the call of Hollywood back in her home.

00:48She honed her craft at USC's prestigious School of Cinematic Arts,

00:52earning a master's degree in film and television production, the opening scene of what would become her defining legacy.

01:00My journey as a black woman in Hollywood began, actually, my first job that I ever had in Hollywood was as a PA.

01:07And then I ended up working at Fox Searchlight as an intern when I was in grad school at USC.

01:12And then kind of the big break I had was as a writer's PA, season six on Grey's Anatomy.

01:18I would say I was very fortunate early on in my career to work for Shonda Rhimes and work on Scandal.

01:23And that show was so important to a lot of black women.

01:27And then I stayed at Shondaland for nine years and I just had a, you know, just a wonderful journey.

01:32Kerry Washington became the first black woman to lead a network drama in nearly four decades.

01:38Seeing how that impacted other black women, how people showed up for Kerry, how people showed up for Shonda,

01:44that people did want to see black women on TV, that made me really be inspired to want to put more black women on television.

01:52Ramla's artistic vision found its perfect canvas in Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere.

01:57Her nuanced writing and profound grasp of human complexity elevated the series,

02:02drawing five distinguished nominations between 2020 and 2021, including a primetime Emmy nod for Outstanding Limited Series.

02:11Ramla's visionary talent reached new heights with Reasonable Doubt, the first original series from Onyx Collective.

02:18As creator and showrunner, she set the tone for the production company's bold mission of unapologetically black storytelling.

02:26Her dynamic series helped cement Onyx Collective as a vital new voice in television, marking Ramla as a defining force in the industry.

02:34I really do enjoy when people come to me and say they watch the show, they love the show.

02:38I've seen people say they've gotten into couples therapy because of the show.

02:42And so for me, it's important that in these roles, that we represent our community and represent voices

02:48because there are little girls and little boys out there watching and hoping that maybe they can do what we do.

03:08And I think that's really important.