In May 2013, Tyler Perry spoke to Oprah Winfrey about the lack of roles in cinema for African American actors. “I just feel like the storytellers are telling stories that don’t necessarily include a lot of us.” He concluded with the following statement, “We need more storytellers and more people in power to give the strength to those storytellers to be able to tell those stories.” One month later, again in an interview with Oprah, Oscar nominee and Tony award winning actress Viola Davis echoed Tyler Perry’s sentiments, but took things a step further when she said, ”The small quantity and poor quality of roles for African American women breeds a hostile, competitive environment."

 

Geveryl Robinson, created 10th Power Productions, Inc., to prove that not only are there storytellers that are inclusive to everyone, but these storytellers also provide quality and diverse roles that prove that Black people are not a monolith. In addition,10th Power Productions, Inc., will also produce and distribute film, television and musical productions as well as produce programs for other quality independent filmmakers who have otherwise gone unnoticed.

 

Geveryl is a former professor, columnist, and current writer and creator. In addition to earning her MFA in Creative Writing, the sudden murder of one of her students was the catalyst for her to pursue journalist endeavors.  Eight months after her first column, Geveryl received national attention as a spotlighted columnist on a syndicated news program. She spent 6.5 years writing an Op/Ed column for the Savannah Morning News during which time her columns were mentioned or featured in The New York Times, the Dallas Morning News, More magazine, FOX News,Huffingtonpost.com, GeorgiaDigest, the Knoxville News Sentinel, News Center and many other online and print publications. Geveryl has spoken at many social, civic, and educational organizations; however, her greatest achievment was establishing the John Weldon Memorial Scholarship in honor of her slain student.