The day before I meet up with Issa Rae, a thing happens. Rae is in Brooklyn, New York, at Culture Con, a conference created to engage people of color across culture and business. She was invited as one of the keynote speakers to discuss her efforts in diverse storytelling.
Rae is sitting on stage in white ankle boots and a bomber jacket when the interviewer pronounces Rae's name incorrectly, referring to her as "Ih-suh." (It's "Ee-suh," but you knew that, right?) The packed crowd immediately corrects the moderator's mistake, eventually breaking out into a cheer: Issa! Issa! Issa! In a video that has since made its rounds on the internet, Rae can be seen breaking out in a giant grin as the room gets louder.
The fumbling of her name has happened before, as it's happened to many other Black women: Zendaya, Rihanna, Kamala. As Rae once said in a 2016 interview with the Chicago Tribune, "That's the one I hate the most. 'Eye-suh' I can deal with, but 'Ih-suh' sounds incomplete, like it should Mel-issa. Like you think my name is incomplete."
Jo-Issa Rae Diop, her full name, was born to a Senegalese father and American mother with Louisiana roots. The family moved from Los Angeles to Senegal, then back to Los Angeles by way of Maryland, all before Rae was a teen. She chronicles the ups and downs of the moves-including the severity of people mispronouncing her name-in her 2016 book The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. The introduction explains how Jo-Issa became Issa Rae after her aunt Rae Hayward, a visual artist and activist to whom she was close, passed away in 2008. Rae started to include her middle name on social media as a way to pay homage to her, when a friend unexpectedly put Issa and Rae together. It just clicked. It also just seemed simpler to say. "It's so funny because I went by Issa Rae so that my name would be easiest," she says.
Denne historien er fra The Power Issue 2023-utgaven av Marie Claire - US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra The Power Issue 2023-utgaven av Marie Claire - US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BOREDOM HELPED THE FOUNDERS OF LEFT ON FRIDAY BUILD A NEW BRAND
Shannon Savage and Laura Low Ah Kee left their executive roles at Lululemon to try their hand at starting a bathing suit business.
A REFRESHING CONVERSATION ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
The realities of global warming are becoming increasingly dismal. But in her latest book What If We Get It Right?, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson explains that we already have the answers we need.
GIVING BIRTH IN GAZA
Procedures performed with kitchen scissors. Makeshift medical tents with no pain medication, clean water, or electricity. Marie Claire goes inside one of the most dangerous places in the world to be pregnant right now.
MYHA'LA IS THINKING BIG
The Industry star is entering a new phase of life, determined to take up more space in her personal and professional endeavors. Showing off this season's bold, billowing silhouettes, she tells us all about it.
COAST ALONG
A slice of the Mexican shoreline in Costalegre is reconsidering what sustainable travel can look like, through gentle development and thoughtful community.
READY FOR DRIFT OFF
A new wave of sleep retreats and spas are offering another way to get some shut-eye.
THE BARE TRUTH ABOUT NAKED DRESSING
The trend isn't just for A-listers. But it isn't necessarily for all of us, either.
FASHION IS LOSING MIDDLE GROUND
In-between brands are disappearing. And with them, an entire perspective on style.
WORK WIVES ARE GOING EXTINCT
They're becoming less common as remote and hybrid work get more prevalent. But is now the time when we need them most?
MY DECADES-LONG JOURNEY TO CURLS
\"My hair's growth these years, much like mine, has been stunningly imperfect.\"
