Directors Bethann Hardison, Frederic Tcheng
Producer Lisa Cortes
Co-Producer James Paul Dallas
Associate Producer Rebecca H. James Cinematography Mia Cioffi Henry, Frédéric Tcheng
Editors Chris McNabb, Frédéric Tcheng

Naomi Campbell calls her Ma but to many she’s simply Bethann. A leading figure in fashion for over five decades, Bethann is a pioneering Black model, modeling agent and activist. Today, she is the industry’s voice of wisdom in the fight for racial diversity. During her lifetime, she’s seen the pendulum swing several times for the Black model. At every setback, she spoke up and rallied the troops. Now in her 70s, the Brooklyn native is in the midst of organizing her archives and reflecting on her own legacy at a moment when the fashion industry is shaken by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Bethann’s formative years were split between two worlds: Brooklyn and North Carolina. In Bedford Stuyvesant, where she was raised between the households of a carefree mother and an Islamic leader father, she was an independent spirit in a vibrant community. A latchkey kid, a child tap dancer, a track runner, and the first Black cheerleader in her high school. But in North Carolina, where she spent summers with her grandmother, she witnessed another side of Black life in America: racial segregation and inequality.