Let’s face it, there’s not a glut of quality roles and opportunities given to people of color both in front of and behind the camera.
Actress Reagan Gomez-Preston is doing a thing or two to change that perception.
The voice of Roberta Tubbs on Fox’s Family Guy and Jasmine Russel on TV One’s Love That Girl has independently produced two successful seasons of her own web-series, Almost Home.
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The actress did so by crowdfunding through indiegogo.com. “Coming from the business as a woman of color— it’s up to us to create our own platforms,” Gomez-Preston tells The Source. “To tell our own stories. And that’s what I’m doing.”
With the success of Almost Home, Gomez-Preston is at it again, but this time she’s created an independent sci-fi web series called Surviving the Dead. The show has already casted The Real Husbands of Hollywood’s Cynthia McWilliams as the show’s lead role. Gomez-Preston, an admittedly an avid sci-fi fan created the concept of the show because of the rarity of seeing black women in sci-fi programming.
Other than Nichelle Nichols playing Uhura in Star Trek and Zoe Saldana reprising that role in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013, when have ya seen it regularly?
We’re Waiting!
“The possibility of quality, original content starring people of color is so exciting for people,” said Gomez-Preston. “So they can’t wait and neither can we.”
Gomez-Preston admits that she’s gone out of her own pockets to fund her projects. But it’s worth it: “Sometimes damn near 90% was out of my own pocket and my family’s pockets,” she said.
“But it’s worth it because we’re making amazing, original content. I feel like if more people with bigger platforms than mine were on the same page, fans would love it and support.”
Gomez-Preston has raised $8,425 of the $ 8,500 goal she planned to raise and she’s excited. “We’re getting further and further away from TV,” she said.
“And closer to our tablets and phones so it makes sense.”
If you’d like to donate to help fund the Surviving the Dead project CLICK HERE
An enterprising actress, she’s come a long way since playing Zaria on Robert Townsend’s The Parent Hood.
