As a person of color, I was just really tired of the fact that I wasn't seeing my story in the culture.

Sometimes identity can be your salvation. It can be liberating to find your place in the world, but at some point, identity can hold you back.

As a director, I try not to implement a way for working, for every single actor, across the board. I try to work with each one, on an individual basis.

America is a different country, and it will forever be a different country, after the election of Donald Trump.

I love the art house, and when I say the art house, I don't just mean little, independent movies but movies that really aim to be about something and say something and I love those movies.

It is frustrating having to walk through America having to bob and weave people's impressions of me because they see a tall, black guy walking down the street. That is frustrating.

I love when scenes are intentionally and meticulously planned so we feel like this is a handcrafted scene that only works in this moment and this movie, and that's the way I approach my films.

Racism is wrong, racism is very dangerous.

If the characters [in a movie] aren't real, if their lives aren't realistic, if you call bullshit at any point in their journey, then the rest of it is invalid.

Unfortunately, 'post racism' is also a myth, like unicorns and black people who survive to the end of a horror movie.

That’s the thing about living vicariously

For some it is harder to wake up to the truth of life than it is to fall into the sleep of death

I just sing what I'm feeling at the time and hope my fans will like that and appreciate that.

Follow the truth of the way. Reflect upon it. Make it your own. Live it. It will always sustain you.

It's really important for boys to see that girls take up half of the planet - which we do.

In short: if one has nothing of value to say, only that which is impure defilement, avoid them. They are masters of the dark. Of no use.

In the end, you have to write like you're not afraid of the critics.

Live simply so that others may simply live.

Would a dating service for people on the net be "frowned upon" by DCA? I hope not. But even if it is, don't let that stop you from notifying me via net mail if you start one.

If you have ever seen a four-year-old trying to lord it over a two-year-old, then you know what the basic problem of human nature is - and why government keeps growing larger and ever more intrusive.