Exhibitionists have no friends, no friends at all.
As a people we do not need anyone else's stamp of approval.
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.
This country exists as the fulfillment of a promise made by God Himself. It would be ridiculous to ask it to account for its legitimacy.
One of the things that I am concerned about is the degree to which we've seen a lot of commentary lately where there were, there are Republicans or pundits or cable commentators who seemed to have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than fellow Americans because those fellow Americans were Democrats. That cannot be.
I’d like to go out in the front yard and shout something. “None of this is worth it!” That’s what I’d like people to hear.
We are deceived by the appearance of right.