*Well-Read Black Girl - Book Club Pick*

As an incredible glass-ceiling breaker and the woman who brought timeless television shows like The Game and Being Mary Jane to cable, Debra Lee has been the visionary responsible for elevating Black images and storytelling for decades. Now she's telling her own story, in an intimate and eye-opening tale about the triumphant and tricky moments of a career in entertainment.

I Am Debra Lee is a page-turner, filled with deeply personal revelations, juicy celebrity intel, and electrifying behind-the-scenes stories that reveal how she went from a girl raised in the segregated South to leading the first Black company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and how she juggled social responsibility while managing a company targeted toward the Black community. In a rousing narrative, Lee writes: "I don't just love Black culture-the magic in our hair, the swagger in our steps, the particular way we can say 'alright now' to fit our changing moods-Black culture saved me." In her exciting debut, she answers all of our questions about building an unapologetically Black enterprise as a Black woman. What to do when you're forced to attend a board meeting eight weeks after a C-section. How to manage a team of men when you're the first female CEO at the company. How she learned the hard way to say no to those in power when their vision didn't align with her purpose.

I Am Debra Lee tackles lessons that women CEOs rarely dare to. She addresses her personal struggles with motherhood and "having it all," navigating reproductive choice, fertility, and #MeToo while achieving great professional success. Being Black and a woman in corporate life isn't easy for anyone. But Lee shows how she evolved from a shy girl who dreaded public speaking to becoming a force to be reckoned with as she helped build the leading entertainment company for Black audiences and consumers of Black culture globally.

?I Am Debra Lee is a must-read for all strivers in any industry. Lee is a truthteller about the critical choices that Black leaders face. As she has done her whole career, in this book, she opens the door for others to come after her, by sharing the truth behind her own inspiring story of power, perseverance, and success.

About the Author
Known as the "Godmother of Black Entertainment," Debra Lee served as the first CEO of Black Entertainment Television following the network's founder, Robert Johnson. Prior to that, her 30+ year tenure at BET also included roles as General Counsel and COO. She is also the founder of Leading Women Defined and the co-founder of Monarch Collective-both organizations wholly dedicated to mentoring, supporting, and empowering both women and the BIPOC community at large. The proud mother of two, she splits her time between Los Angeles and New York City.


Book Information
ISBN 9780306828591
Author Debra Lee
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Da Capo Press Inc
Publisher Hachette Books
Weight(grams) 420g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 156mm * 26mm