Jackie Molloy
Chris Wairegi ’14, a cinematographer based in Brooklyn, N.Y., created a group to help unify Black women in the film industry.
When walking into the workplace, one might assume that the staff would be as diverse as the local community it’s in. Chris Wairegi ’14 (cinematography and photography), a cinematographer based in Brooklyn, N.Y., found that this isn’t the case in the film industry.
“I’ve worked jobs where there are at least 200 people on set and I’m the only Black woman. When I walk around New York City I pass every kind of person, so it’s surprising when that does not carry over into the workplace,” said Wairegi. “My dream of dreams is that the film and television industries reflect the world in which they operate.”
Wairegi is the founder of 600 Black Women, a collective of motion picture filmmakers, still photographers, and publicists who are Black women, femmes, and gender expansive people in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 600 guild.
When Wairegi was recruited for a job by a large television network, she was required to join the guild. After joining, another Black woman informed her that she was the fourth Black woman camera operator in the union.
“I thought she was joking, but then I got onto set and every person I came across said that they’ve never seen a Black woman operator or had never seen Black women in the camera department at all,” she said.
Wairegi explained that these comments weren’t meant to be negative, it was just a reflection of the industry.
Of the over 10,000 current members of the union, only 108 of them are Black women, femmes, or nonbinary—and they are all members of 600 Black Women. Since its founding in 2022, the collective continues to grow and now hosts annual “camera cookouts,” where members meet for a series of workshops and networking on Juneteenth weekend.
Wairegi said that professional networking is actually the least important opportunity that the group provides. She described the camaraderie between members as “part friendship, part mentorship, and part therapy.”
“All of us at one time, in whatever industry you’re in, had someone who gave us an extra boost to help us achieve a goal. That’s what 600 Black Women is all about,” said Wairegi. “We benefit from each other by supporting each other. It’s a network of people who are dedicated to seeing you win.”
When reflecting on the growth of 600 Black Women, Wairegi shared that she believes that everyone has the capability to make change happen and that it isn’t always as difficult as it may seem.
“If there is something in your world that you’d like to change, you might be the person you’ve been waiting for,” she said.
