On this episode of #WeNeedToTalk, Malynda talks with TV writer, Chas Jackson. They chat about how his path led him to be a writer on the television show Grown-ish, the adversity he faced as a Black male writer and achieving his dreams, the struggle of being a diversity hire versus being hired because you're qualified, and the importance of being able to tell authentic stories from the Black experience. 

Chas is an award-winning slam poet from the Bay Area. After completing his studies in Writing for Television at UCLA he lived in Cameroon West Africa creating original content for MTN telecommunications. Chas wroteor the award-winning web series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl starring Issa Rae. He was a Napa Valley Writers Fiction Fellow as well as an Official Selection in the New York Television Festival’s first script competition. He went on to win a development deal from the competition with One X Studios in 2016. Last year he was selected for the 2021 Disney Writers Fellowship. Chas most recently wrapped as a Staff Writer on the Freeform comedy GROWNISH.

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