ABOVE PHOTO: Kyle Bowser
Senior vice president, NAACP Hollywood Bureau
By Kharisma McIlwaine
During its 115-year history, the NAACP has been at the forefront of creating opportunities for Black people to be recognized and represented equally in every facet of American life. The organization has specifically fought against the stereotypical portrayals of Black people in television, film, and media since the release of the overtly racist film “Birth of A Nation” in 1915.
Kyle Bowser continues to uphold that fight, legacy, and mission as senior vice president of the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau. The Hollywood Bureau was created to forge pathways for inclusion and equity for Black people within the entertainment industry. Bowser will bring his wealth of his industry expertise, as well as a wide array of entertainment professionals, to Philadelphia for the NAACP’s “Be In The Biz” event series on June 29 from 8 a.m. -7 p.m. at Quorum, 3675 Market Street. Bowser spoke with the SUN about his entertainment career, the importance of the Hollywood Bureau’s work, and what attendees can expect at “Be In The Biz.”
As a Philadelphia native, Bowser was exposed to a number of people that inspired his love for storytelling.
“I’ve lived now in Los Angeles for just over 30 years, but Philly is always going to be home to me, and I have to remind people of that,” Bowser said. “I think it is my youth in Philadelphia that really sort of turned me into a storyteller. There were just so many fascinating adventures, characters and people in my life that left an impression on me — it made me realize the stories that we tell end up being our legacy. So, I think that’s where it all began.”
Bowser’s journey in entertainment was further encouraged and catapulted by his father’s vision regarding the transformation of an iconic Philadelphia building.
“One definite break that I got was, as I was graduating from college, my father purchased the Uptown Theater in Philadelphia on Broad Street,” Bowser said. “I’d heard so many stories about how many wonderful performers were there and how electric it was. So, when my dad purchased the building, it had been closed for many years, and people thought he was crazy — but he had a vision. Not only was there a 2,000-seat theater, but above that, there is also a five-story office building structure. He converted that into a private nightclub. I was graduating from college, and he hired me to help develop the project and work there once we were open. That really was a baptism for me in the entertainment industry — for theater management, concert promotion, negotiating contracts and managing people. It really was a learning experience I’m always indebted to my dad for providing me with.”
After working in Atlantic City at Harrah’s Casino, booking talent and curating events, Bowser attended law school, providing him with a completely different, but vital perspective on the world of entertainment.
“The first thing it did was it taught me that I had the acumen to be more involved in the behind the scenes of the entertainment industry; to really be a participant in how business is done in the industry,” he said.
After law school, Bowser made the move to L.A. and began developing content for Fox Television working on shows like “In Living Color,” “Roc” and “Martin.” He went on to develop new content for HBO before producing his own projects. Seeing multiple aspects of the industry inspired him to find new ways to share that information with others. That inspiration came to fruition when Bowser began working for the NAACP as the senior vice president of the Hollywood Bureau, which was the catalyst for “Be In The Biz.”
“It was around that time that I thought to myself, ‘It would be so great if I could share this kind of information with folks back at home or around the country, folks who like myself aspiring to be in those rooms but just didn’t have the access,” he said.
“It was [also] during that time that I thought, ‘I want to put together a traveling symposium. I want to travel the country and bring in professionals from Los Angeles and New York to share their insight and information,’ so we created this concept called “Be In The Biz,” Bowser continued. “We started pitching it around town for some corporate support. Eventually, I started working for the NAACP. This was sort of like the sweet spot for me. In my youth in Philadelphia, my dad and my uncle were very civically involved and very committed to making sure the community had its equity stake in everything that was happening in the city. I was raised in that kind of energy. So now, to be able to combine that with this entertainment career I’ve carved out for myself, really felt like the right place for me.”
The NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau had spent over 20 years creating initiatives to shift the narrative for Black people in the entertainment industry. Bowser’s work at the Hollywood Bureau continues to grant opportunities to Black people navigating their way through the entertainment industry.
“We really engage with the studios, the networks, the agencies, the guilds, and everyone who is working in the industry to try to bring about equitable outcomes — first equitable opportunities that lead to equitable outcomes,” he said. “It’s not just necessary for the sake of the individuals like you and me who want to be involved and get our hands dirty in creativity. It’s really necessary for the benefit of our community, because the images and messages that are in media ultimately shape hearts and minds. They influence people’s perceptions and behaviors about who they are as themselves, how the outside world sees them, and how they see their proximity to the rest of the world. To the extent that we can be a part of that crafting of stories and narratives, the more we can provide our own community with healthy outcomes.”
“What media has always done is perpetuate the value system of the dominate culture… whether you’re talking about newsprint, television, film, radio or music,” Bowser added. “Any kind of content distribution is going to in some way perpetuate a value system. We have to be a part of that process. We have our own values and we need to uphold those values. We can’t always have them dictated to us. We [must] understand that the extent to which we emulate someone else’s values is actually empowering them and their agenda, not necessarily ours.”
With support from Disney and 6ABC, the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau is gifting the Philadelphia community with an opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business at the event “Be In The Biz.” Attendees will be given the opportunity to meet and learn from successful Hollywood executives, writers, producers, lawyers, agents, and more in a day filled with curated sessions and panel discussions.
“Yvette Lee Bowser is going to be our keynote speaker for our luncheon for “Be In The Biz.” We have a full day of panel discussions, with some really impressive panelists and speakers who are flying from Los Angeles and coming down from New York to share this information,” Bowser said. “We have panels about writing, directing, what it means to be a representative, an agent, an attorney, a business manager, a publicist. We have a really interesting conversation about the relationship between creatives and executives because that’s how things really get done. We all have our creative vision but ultimately, we have to convince someone to invest in them and support that, so we have to collaborate. Then of course, my favorite conversation is going to be about media advocacy, which is how do we use media not only to entertain, but to really make an impact in terms of the social justice movement that has always been afoot in this nation.”
To find out more information about the event, and to purchase your tickets, visit: www.naacp.org and search: “Be In The Biz.”
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