Erika Alexander: Dreaming of Narratives That Transcend

Dreaming in Color

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for social change leaders of color to reflect on how their life experiences, personal and professional, have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek.

In this episode, we welcome Erika Alexander, an actress known for iconic roles like Maxine Shaw in Living Single, Detective Latoya in Get Out, Cousin Pam in The Cosby Show and many others. Outside of acting, Erika wears many hats including activist, entrepreneur, creator, producer, and director.

In 2017 Erika founded Color Farm Media, a media company dedicated to building an ecosystem that fosters greater equity, inclusion, and diversity in media and that empowers and elevates voices who are underrepresented, overlooked, and undervalued. Some of Color Farm’s social impact films include John Lewis: Good Trouble and The Big Payback, about the reparations movement.

Join this conversation as Darren and Erika discuss the significance of her iconic character Maxine Shaw from Living Single and how that led to the so-called “Maxine Shaw Effect” which inspired many young women to pursue careers in leadership and law.

Listen as we explore the intersection of storytelling and electoral politics and examine how narratives shape public perception and policy reinforcing the need for philanthropy and the social sector to support storytellers and create spaces for diverse narratives to thrive.

This is Dreaming In Color.

Jump straight into:

(00:25.7) Introducing Erika Alexander: Actress, Producer, Director, and Founder of Color Farm Media.

(03:36.4) Erika’s early beginnings in the Southwest.

(05:25.9) We explore the early ideas of futurism spreading through the words of pastors, clergy & teachers.

(06:08.5) The Maxine Shaw Effect - how Erika’s portrayal of Maxine Shaw inspired leaders like Stacey Abrams, Ayanna Pressley, and Mayor de Blasio

(9:58.1) American Fiction and creating complex narratives for Black characters in media.

(12:14.6) Erika delves into the work of ColorFarm Media.

(13:48.8) We dive into the influence of storytelling in politics and Erika’s work on Capitol Hill.

(18:33.5) Architecting the third reconstruction: building new narratives and shedding old ones.

(20:46.4) Building a society around the sustainability of storytellers.

(22:27.6) Fusion politics, people being oppressed simultaneously and how we have the power to retell stories of the past through a different lens.

(23:16.5) Erika references the dark underbelly of the silent investors in media.

(25:36.7) Going within, how coping mechanisms turned darkness into light, into Black Futurism.

Episode Resources

• Keep up with Erika on Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook
• Learn more about Erika through her website
• Learn more about Color Farm Media at their website
• Listen to Erika’s podcast “Reparations: The Big Payback” on Apple Podcasts here and on Spotify here.

Watch “John Lewis: Good Trouble” at home