To choose love and jump in not knowing, with a lot of unknowns, is a brave act.
I wanted always to be a storyteller of the fullest expression.
I've been having a 20-plus year conversation with black women, starting with 'Girlfriends,' moving through 'The Game,' 'Being Mary Jane,' even 'Sparkle.'
That's what this industry is all about - supporting artists and supporting storytellers and hearing the audience for what they want and need. There still is a lack of value for what black women want, yet we have proven to be one of the strongest consumers in the marketplace.
When you realize you don't own someone, you show up every day to try to make sure they stay in your life.
I've kinda been an off-Broadway sensation. There aren't a lot of lights or big marquees around my name or my work, yet my core audience knows exactly where I am.
Technology has changed our industry, and I think that's opened up different revenue streams and ways to make money and distribute television. It's made the global conversation easier, quicker.
I went to journalism school, so sometimes writing the script of 'Being Mary Jane' is me putting my journalism hat on.
It's funny that black men, at first, were worried about a show called 'Girlfriends' because they thought that black men were gonna get bashed. They realized, 'Wait a minute - we're respected in this story.'
Where I thrive is with my hands on the keyboard or my pen on the paper. One of the things I get to do is I get to rewrite. I rewrite, and I work hard on my scripts. You can rewrite until you're 'perfect,' and that's something that's safe for me.
With directing, it's all out there, in the moment and in real-time. The pressure and all of the eyes are on you, and you've gotta do it. That is the place that made me nervous.
I think what is magic about black-girl hair is, at its basic level, it's just resilient. It can go from straight to curly in the same day. It's just transformative. When you don't feel so strong, the hair can be a sign of empowerment.
For me, I start at the place that my characters are human. I start at the place that they are onions that are layered and meant to be peeled, just as we as human beings are.
I'm hoping that the legacy of 'Girlfriends' is just that you can enjoy and connect to Joan, Maya, Toni, Lynn, and William and see your humanity reflected in theirs. That's what I'm hoping that it did.
I was born knowing I had to go to college.
