NEEMA BARNETTE

Neema Barnette (born December 14, 1949) is an American film director. She was the first African-American woman to direct a primetime sitcom and also the first African-American woman to get a three-picture deal with Sony. Barnette has won several awards, including a Peabody Award, an Emmy Award, a Sundance Film Festival Award, the Sojourner Truth Award at Cannes, and two NAACP Image Awards. She has directed over fifty hours of network television, ten made-for-TV movies, and four feature films. Barnette also serves as executive producer for Black History Mini Docs, a series of videos that are ninety seconds or less featuring the stories of notable African-Americans throughout history. Her work primarily focuses on challenging the stereotypes of Black people that are depicted in entertainment.