It only takes one person to mobilize a community and inspire change. Even if you don't feel like you have it in you, it's in you. You have to believe in yourself. People will see your vision and passion and follow you.
I want to continue to strive towards deepening my relationship with God and finding peace in whatever trials or circumstances I may be given.
Whatever it is you do, study it, learn the ins and outs of it, and really work on building your craft.
When I'm filming, I keep my hair in cornrows so that they can fit a wig on top of my hair.
In working with Nick Cannon, he's such a generous guy, a generous actor, and he was very protective.
For me, it's always about the work and the stories I'm telling and the slices of life I feel should be illuminated.
I went to middle school and high school, and my drama teacher, Ms. Cooper, basically nurtured me. It was always a part of my life, and my parents allowed it to be.
I went straight from filming the second season of 'Survivor's Remorse,' and the creators over there were so supportive in letting me go early so I could film 'Chi-Raq.' And that was an amazing experience.
I always want to tell the truth. It doesn't have to be a pretty truth, and it doesn't have to be a life-changing and life-threatening truth like 'Chi-Raq.' But I want to tell someone's truth in an effort to inspire people to see themselves reflected on the screen.
It feels good to be a role model for little girls who don't often see natural hair on the red carpet.
As black women, we're miles behind our white counterparts in being offered the space to create and craft female characters in major blockbuster films.
I've wanted to be an actress my whole life, and the - none of the women I aspired to be like had natural hair.
I got my first relaxer when I was nine years old. This was in the '90s, and I convinced my mom to let me perm my hair so I could wear a French roll with the crimps in the front.
I was a wild child tomboy.
When you just come into a show that's already established, you feel that they're family, and they have a way of doing things and running things.
When I look at material, I get excited by things that are telling the truth because that's what you want to do: tell somebody else's truth.
When I looked at 'Dear White People,' you have four African-American students who are all very different and who are trying to figure out who they are. They're dealing with identity issues and crises. That is exciting to me, to see African-American young people on a page, on a screen, who are so diverse and whose stories are all so different.
I, for myself, have wanted to get more into producing because I want to be a part of the conversation and be one of the voices in the story we're trying to tell.
I try to be very particular about the roles I choose and what they say and put into the universe. I try to do my part.
When you get into this industry and the restrictions placed on women, first, and then on women on color, next? Yeah, this business comes with its challenges. But I do not shy away from those challenges.
