Former Tyler Perry Producer Roger Bobb Makes Directorial Debut, ‘Raising Izzie’ – Video

‘Raising Izzie,’ the feature film debut of director Roger M. Bobb. Starring Vanessa Williams, Rockmond Dunbar, Kyla Kenedy, and Victoria Stale, the film is based on David Martyn Conley’s script, which was the winner of the 2011 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) GMC TV Faith and Family Screenplay Competition.

Raising Izzie makes its world television premiere on GMC TV on Saturday, July 21st at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. with encore broadcasts, Sunday, July 22nd at 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., Monday, July 23rd at 9:00 p.m. and Friday, July 27th at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. ET.

Raising Izzie is the story of two young orphaned sisters and the caring teacher who changes their lives forever. When their mother passes away leaving them without an adult guardian, sisters Izzie (Kyla Kenedy) and Gertie Nash (Victoria Staley) are forced to grow up fast. Afraid her daughters will be separated if they are placed in the foster care system, their mother makes the necessary arrangements for Gertie and Izzie to live on their own, with a bank account, apartment and small on-line business to support themselves. Older sister Gertie takes care of her little sister in addition to working and attending school. For a year, the girls are able to hide their predicament from their neighbors, their landlord and even their teachers. But when Tonya Freeman (Vanessa Williams), Gertie’s new teacher, becomes suspicious, the girls have to come up with a new plan to protect their secret. After Tonya confronts the girls and they confess to their situation, Tonya has to decide how to protect them and keep them together against the will of her husband Greg (Rockmond Dunbar).

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top