February 2, 2024
Issa Rae, Angelica Ross, Cory Booker, And More Make TIME’s Inaugural ‘Closers’ List
Issa Rae is the cover profile for TIME's first-ever "The Closers" list. The magazine's new annual catalog highlighting 18 leaders working to close the racial wealth gap.
Issa Rae is the cover profile for TIME’s first-ever “The Closers” list, new annual catalog highlighting 18 leaders working to close the racial wealth gap.
The list was unveiled on Thursday, February 1, and includes actress, writer, producer, and Hoorae CEO Issa Rae, along with actress, president of Miss Ross Inc., and founder of TransTech Social Enterprises, Angelica Ross, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, and other notable honorees. It was created in response to a recent Federal Reserve report that found the median wealth of white households in the U.S. was approximately six times higher than that of Black families in 2022.
In her cover profile, Issa shared how she manages to juggle the broader pursuit of equity alongside her creative and entrepreneurial commitments. She also revealedher 2024 agenda, which includes two new projects for HBO, one in which she’ll create, write, and star in like she did on Insecure.
The new show will be set in an “alternative present,” and be created in partnership with Southside creators Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin.
The profile comes weeks after her HBO Max series Rap Sh!t was canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery, which she seemingly credited to Hollywood’s backsliding on diversity pledges made during the heightened racial tension of 2020.
“I’ve never seen Hollywood this scared and clueless, and at the mercy of Wall Street,” she quipped.
As a result, Issa knows it’s up to her to continue to do well and profit to extend a ladder to other diverse creatives in this continued fight for equity.
“I recognize that I have to do well economically to be able to make change,” she said. “That’s frustrating, that’s ugly. But I recognize that money moves things faster—and so much of what I do is with the intention to help make those moves.”
Also included on the list are Adriana Barbosa, president and CEO of PretaHub; Arian Simone and Ayana Parsons, leaders at the Fearless Fund; Aurora James, designer and founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge; Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator; Darrick Hamilton and William Darity, economists at the New School and Duke; Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, chief of membership, policy and equity at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition; Erin Horne McKinney, national executive director of the Howard University and PNC National Center for Entrepreneurship; and Imani Ellis, founder of CultureCon.
Closing out the list includes John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation Hope; Leandris Liburd, acting director for CDC’s Office of Health Equity; Lisa Rice, president and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance; Ramogi Huma, executive director of the National College Players Association; and Rebecca Ajulu-Bushell, CEO of 10000 Interns Foundation.
While the exact figures of the Federal Reserve report have fluctuated over time, it remains undeniable that the racial wealth gap continues to spread far and wide.
“Oftentimes the frame is, ‘Oh, we’re not where we want to be, but we’re getting there,’” Asante-Muhammad said. “And for 20 years I have been trying to highlight, ‘No, we aren’t.’”
Those featured on the list are doing their part in combatting this growing wealth gap through business, policymaking, health care, entertainment, and more.
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