I don't think I've ever made any conscious decision to be a comic artist, but to me there's something quite anarchic about comedy.
I'm surprised that Hollywood and networks have not been diverse as other industries.
I believe in destiny. But I also believe that you can’t just sit back and let destiny happen. A lot of times, an opportunity might fall into your lap, but you have to be ready for that opportunity. You can’t sit there waiting on it. A lot of times you are going to have to get out there and make it happen.
I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.
You gotta make your own way. You gotta find a way. You gotta get it done. It's hard. It's tough. That's what I tell my students every day in class. I've been very fortunate. Some people might call me a hardhead, but I'm not going to let other people dictate to me who I should be or the stories I should tell. That doesn't register with me.
It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.
I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.
I do not wish my house to be walled and my windows stuffed. I want all cultures to blow freely through my dwelling.
Comedy distances pain, but leaves signs of it everywhere.
When all is well in your end, it is not enough! All must be well in every end!
Because Chicago was to radio what Hollywood was to films and Broadway was to the theatre: it was the hub of radio.