*Issa Rae received the first-ever key to the city of Inglewood at Saturday’s Taste of Inglewood festival.
As reported by PEOPLE, Mayor James T. Butts presented the key to the actress, and the honor mirrored the moment her “Insecure” character was also bestowed with a key to the city on the series.
“I’m a little emotional, I’m trying to be a thug right now. The mayor really flabbergasted me in that this is the first key in 114 years. It’s a huge honor and I just want to thank you all so much for your support. Thank you to the mayor, thank you to the city of Inglewood for making it so easy for us to film here, for helping us to showcase this city that I love so much,” Rae said in her speech.
Apparently, she is the first person in the history of the city to receive the honor. Sadly, the countless Black men and women who came before Issa, who helped physically build up the city of Inglewood, never received such a key to the city, according to reports.
However, one Twitter user noted, “Sorry but that is a complete LIE!!!! We have had two recipients in the last couple of decade who WERE NOT FAMOUS… recognize them and do your research. She is NOT the first sorry but retract this LIE.”
READ MORE: Issa Rae Calls On Black Businesses to Get Certified Through ByBlack Program
In Inglewood this afternoon, 24 hours before Super Bowl kickoff at SoFi across the street, as Issa Rae is given the key to the city. It’s the first one given in Inglewood’s 100+ year history pic.twitter.com/AXAVD6RnTl
— Kirsten Chuba (@KirstenChuba) February 12, 2022
“I have to give love to my grandparents who have lived here, who have lived in Briarwood for a long time and who established my first point of view of Inglewood and love the city themselves; my mom and my sister who live here actively,” Rae continued. “And just for being here, I have to give a shout-out to my collaborators and my company members at Hoorae who have come out here to support me. But I’m truly honored to receive this. I will always put on for my city. Inglewood, South L.A., stand up.”
The city was predominantly featured in Rae’s HBO show “Insecure,” which ended its five-season run in December. Late last year, Rae called on Black-owned businesses to certify their brands through the ByBlack initiative, which is the “first national certification program exclusively for Black-ownership designation.”
Rae is supporting American Express and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.’s (USBC) joint effort to expand their ByBlack initiative, EURweb.com reported.
“I feel like if we’re not going to do it ourselves, nobody else will,” Rae previously said about supporting Black-owned businesses. “No one else puts the care that we do into us.”
“Just thinking about shopping small and Black businesses in general, the last couple of years, even in my neighborhood, our businesses have been most affected by the pandemic. And so to be able to just support them genuinely and supporting families feels right and important to me, especially during this holiday season,” Rae added.
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