"In the future, we will need to make the case — and this will be up to your generation — why normal Americans should care about what’s happening in Syria, China, Hong Kong, or wherever. The world is interconnected, and we’ve got people in almost every city in the United States that either import items from other countries or sell goods to other countries. And so people have to understand that we are interconnected — and that is a good thing."
" For the Latinx community, which is very diverse both in thoughts and ideas, it’s making sure that whoever is representing the nation understands that the Latinx community is here to stay. And if we use our full political power, then neither of the two predominant political affiliations will be able to ignore us."
"Part of what we have to do is further democratize media, ensuring that progressive marginalized voices are more and more at the forefront. That means having more hosts, producers, writers, and content creators who not only reflect the backgrounds that we come from, but reflect the values of a more just world."
"With cities, leadership is real. It’s right on the ground; It’s literally and figuratively in your face. There’s no hiding. When you have fifteen inches of snow on the ground, you can’t make a speech and hope it goes away. If you’re at the supermarket, the barbershop, or walking down the street, people have things on their mind, and they want to talk to you. You have to listen. That’s a part of the job."
Tearing up the racial contract will demand a project of national reconstruction, the allocation of whose burdens will need to recognize the problems tens of millions of poor, working-class, and unemployed white Americans are facing also.
"I have a platform, and I want to use it to educate others. I knew that people were hungry for this conversation. To tell this on a much broader scale was our goal with producing COMPLEXion. As we started filming, we found that colorism was different in every culture. We really wanted to tell the human stories."
"My main criteria for taking a case is that nobody else will take it: The defendant is so hated, so maligned, so criticized, so despised, that they are a pariah. The worse they are regarded by people, the more likely it is that I will take their case."
"There is no doubt in my mind that the U.S. is going through one of the most critical periods in its history, and that its institutions are truly in danger – some of them have been damaged in a way that is going to be very difficult to repair."
"In the world right now, there are so many people who are trying to figure out solutions. And they’re working hard. We just don’t happen to know them. And so none of us can project from the current moment what the horizons of possibility are. So you have to be open to recognizing that the horizons of possibility can surprise you and that the best way to activate those positive surprises is to take the 'Failure is not an option' attitude."
"The greatest moments are when I realize that the film I thought I was making is totally different from where the film is going, and I have to throw the playbook out the window. That’s when I know I’m onto something because I’m expanding my perception."
