LOS ANGELES — Andre Gaines, currently the executive producer on HBO's documentary series The Lady and the Dale, will be producing a documentary on the iconic comedian and civil rights figure, Dick Gregory.

"What Dick Gregory did, the foundations that he laid were huge, and it provided an open door for so many black filmmakers," Gaines said.

One of those who Gregory opened the door for was Gaines himself.

A trailblazer for African-Americans in the industry in his own right, he's currently the only executive producer of color on The Lady and the Dale.

Throughout his decade-plus long career with his own production company, he's often found himself as the only non-white person in Hollywood executive roles, an unfortunate burden he's had to carry.

"Starting off, there's probably a degree of burden to perform, because anytime you're the only one of anything in a room, then you're always gonna have a laser set of eyes pointed at you," Gaines explained.

For things to change, he said it would take mentorship. He learned from legendary Black filmmaker Spike Lee through working with him and others. Now he's trying to mentor the next generation of filmmakers as they start their careers through weekly check-ins.

"If we can provide, as filmmakers, more access to people who feel like they don't know anyone or that they're never going to meet anybody in the industry, then they too can be invited and have a seat at the table," he said.

It's just a small part of what he's trying to do to build on the foundation people like Dick Gregory have created so that in the future, there can be more people of all backgrounds who can sit at the top.