Black Entertainment Summit aims to get more Black creatives in the industry

Jaia Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Diverse Representation. Diverse Representation is hosting the Black Entertainment Career Summit which will take place from Jan. 12-14. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BECK MEDIA & MARKETING.
Jaia Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Diverse Representation. Diverse Representation is hosting the Black Entertainment Career Summit which will take place from Jan. 12-14. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BECK MEDIA & MARKETING.

Black Entertainment Summit aims to get more Black creatives in the industry

By Tia Carol Jones

Jaia Thomas is an entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles, Calif. She has been practicing law for more than 14 years, and served as an adjunct professor teaching entertainment courses. Years ago, she moved to Los Angeles from New York City. She didn’t know one person and was trying to get her foot in the door in the entertainment industry.

Thomas has experienced firsthand how hard it is to build relationships and build a network. Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Diverse Representation. Its mission is to increase exposure and hiring of African-American publicists, agents, managers and attorneys in the entertainment and sports industry.

Diverse Representation will host the Black Entertainment Career Summit from Thursday, Jan. 12th thru. Saturday, Jan. 14th, at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The event will take place in person and virtually.

Thomas came up with the idea for the Black Entertainment Summit because in the past, she heard of studios, networks and other companies within the entertainment space express difficulty in finding Black candidates for roles. She decided she would come up with an event that made it easier for those entities in the entertainment industry to identify, locate and hire Black candidates for various positions in the industry.

Thomas also heard from Black professionals and creatives in the industry that it was difficult to break into the industry. Thomas wants to make it easier for Black people in the industry to get their foot in the door and demystify some of the barriers so that  more Black people gets in the door.

During the three-day summit, attendees can participate in panel discussions, networking opportunities, and fireside chats. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the United Talent Agency, Creative Artists Agency, Endeavor, DreamWorks Animation, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, as well as LinkedIn, have signed on to speak at the event. On Jan. 14th, the event will be virtual. Thomas did this because she wanted Black professionals who were not in Los Angeles to have the opportunity to participate.

Thomas was able to get the companies to participate because Diverse Representation already had existing relationships with them. The ones they didn’t have an existing relationship with, they reached out and explained the goal of the summit and they agreed to participate.

“At the end of the day, we are still not in a lot of positions and roles where we have the hiring power. We’re still not in a lot of the C-Suites, we’re still not in a lot of the Executive roles. A lot of us still don’t have the power to hire, at the end of the day,” Thomas said, adding that sometimes when recruiters are looking to hire, they will ask friends and colleagues for referrals and recommendations, and oftentimes those people look like the recruiters.

Thomas acknowledged that it can be an internal cycle when there are not recruiters who have diverse backgrounds and don’t have a network that is diverse. In Los Angeles, which Thomas considers the entertainment hub of the country, Black people aren’t a large part of the population. Also, there is not a large number of Black people whose families are part of the entertainment industry, which is built partially off nepotism.

Thomas acknowledged that in recent years, Black talent has been vocal about more Black makeup artists and hairstylists in the entertainment industry. There are more directories that have been created for Black makeup artists and hairstylists in the last two years that productions can tap into.

Thomas hopes people find employment opportunities and build a network from attending the Black Entertainment Career Summit.  “I hope they’re able to learn something. There are a lot of top notch speakers who are going to be speaking at this event, and I hope attendees are able to walk away with a better understanding of the entertainment industry, the current landscape and different opportunities in 2023. I just hope they’re able to learn a lot more about the industry and what’s coming down the pipeline,” she said.

For more information about the Black Entertainment Career Summit, visit www.entertainmentcareersummit.com. For more information about Diverse Representation, visit www.diverserepresentation.com.

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