Yara Shahidi on Black-ish and the Current "Renaissance of Black TV"

Actress Yara Shahidi believes that black television has been experiencing a "renaissance," with her show Black-ish leading the charge. During her conversation with Oprah at the Apollo Theater, Yara describes the present media environment as going beyond just expanded visibility into a new richness and complexity of how African-American families and culture are portrayed. "To be able to be on primetime TV as a black family and, as Kenya Barris, the creator of the show, says, an unabashedly black family, has been important because I don't know how many times we've been able to see a successful [black] businessman," she says.

Here, Yara explains why it's so important to be intentional about the stories we tell on television about people of color.

Tune in to Part 2 of Oprah at the Apollo on Tuesday, March 6, at 10/9c—only on OWN.

To hear the full interviews on Oprah's podcast, subscribe to Oprah's Super Soul Conversations in iTunes.