Debbie Allen gives a lesson on harnessing your power at the Hillman Grad Women On The Rise event

“Having power doesn’t mean you can be mean or make people feel lesser; having power empowers people,” Debbie Allen told a crowd of eager listeners at the Hillman Honors Women on the Rise event in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The April 14 meeting was the brainchild of Hillman Grad Productions’ head of cultural marketing, Marquis Phifér, and a full-circle moment for Lena Waithe, who named her production company after a fictional college from a sitcom on which Allen served as showrunner and producer 122 episodes.

it felt like an escape for me,” Waithe said during a panel discussion moderated by Allen. “When I watched this movie, I obviously wasn’t in highschool yet, but I used to be experiencing college life and what that meant. And that meant community. It meant a chosen family. It also meant involvement in the politics of the time. It taught me a lot; not only about who I used to be as a person of color, but in addition about what it meant to be a good friend. What does it mean to be not only a good student, but in addition a good teacher?

Waithe was joined on the panel by Jojo T. Gibbs, star of her BET coming-of-age series, D. Smith, producer and director of the Sundance Audience Award-winning series, and AV Rockwell, winner of the Independent Spirit Award.

During the event, hosted by NAACP Image Award nominee Gia Peppers and featuring aspiring creators in addition to actresses Ashley Blain Featherson-Jenkins, Christina Elmore Duke and Aisha Hinds, each woman spoke about her entry point into Hollywood and key takeaways that they carry with them when reaching the next level of success.

Smith, a former Grammy-nominated record producer, opened up about her experiences sleeping on friends’ couches for 3 years after being shunned by the music industry when she discovered her identity as a transgender woman.

“When I passed, people just stopped coming. They stopped calling. And truthfully, I lost the whole lot,” she said.

Looking for a way out of her difficult situation, Smith asked someone to purchase her a camera, after which made her debut documentary about 4 black transgender sex employees.

“The best thing I’ve learned is that you can’t be creative and jealous at the same time,” Smith told the audience. “You have to stop your ego to move because God, the universe literally activates itself by how you act, and you have to humble yourself.”

Gibbs, who began in stand-up and currently stars in , also talked about the personal responsibility that comes with growing fame. “I have been praying and asking God about where I am now for years, since I was a child, and I think it was only recently that I realized the duality of asking God to be a pioneer in the family and the responsibility and expectation and entitlement that comes from some people to that you are able to do what you do,” she said. “Something is going on in your family, they will pay attention to you. Things come up for your friends and you are seen as the one who can handle them. There may be a lot of expectations placed on your shoulders, so you have to learn to set boundaries, but also to put yourself in front of these people, because you were the person appointed to this position and if God puts you in this position, then you are capable of doing it.”

It’s this reality that led Rockwell, who’s currently writing her next screenplay, to redefine her definition of strength, especially as a woman who has needed to be self-sufficient for much of her life.

“Being an artist outside the corporate space doesn’t require routine visits every six months where someone asks, ‘Hey, how are you?’ so I’ve learned to constantly check myself in all the ways that everyone shares. How am I? What do I need to work on? Especially limiting beliefs,” she said. “Yes, there may be a fight going on for our people, but I don’t discover with it. I’m aware of it, I navigate because it appears, but it surely isn’t my identity.

At the end of the panel, Allen received a framed playbill of the musical through which she began her Broadway profession in 1970, and a framed commencement program for Howard’s graduation ceremony in 1971. Receiving her gifts, Allen said, “I’m 74 years old and busier than ever.” before. I’m working on two movies, a Broadway show, and trying to jot down a memoir.

“I say these things to say that the road goes on and you just have to stay on it,” Allen continued. “Stay in the light and keep going. Keep plowing and stay curious. The things I do not know, I would like to know, and that can keep you perpetually young.