

(Photo courtesy of Marqueece Harris-Dawson)

L.A. City Councilmembers honored actress Issa Rae at Tuesday's celebration of Black Women's Day.

For those who aren't familiar with Rae, we're not sure what kind of five-ton boulder you've been hiding under. Where to start? There's the critically acclaimed Insecure on HBO, which was picked up for a second season in late 2016. Before that, Rae had helmed the wildly successful web series, Awkward Black Girl. There's also the New York Times bestseller—The Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl—which was published in the summer of 2016. She was nominated for a Golden Globe as an actress in 2017, as well as a NAACP Image Award.

She's also a native Angeleno to boot.

Speaking on Rae and Insecure (which is shot on location in South L.A.), Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson said that the show goes a long way in shaping public perception of the neighborhood. “Issa Rae saw that, all too often, the picture of our neighborhoods and our people are inaccurate. She didn’t ask permission, she just created a new image of South LA, one that was more honest about the real lives and stories she has experienced," Harris-Dawson said in a release. He added that, by filming the show in South L.A., the series has even gone as far as providing jobs to people of color.

"For me, it was about representing the richness," Rae told the council, according to City News Service. "It's predominately black and Latino and Asian. It's a balance of affluence and poverty, but the two mesh and it's so beautiful to walk about feeling like your city is home. I want to thank you all for recognizing that."

Also honored at the event were five members of City Year, a non-profit that pairs AmeriCorps members with young students to cut back the dropout rate. “City Year's diverse AmeriCorps members and staff are positive role models for African-American students across the country and work to improve the lives of Americans everywhere," said Mary Jane Stevenson, City Year Los Angeles Executive Director, in the release.

Here are some (mostly non-awkward) photos and interviews from the ceremony:

You can watch the first episode of Insecure in its entirety here: