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To be a black person is to come from a long bloodline of survivors and storytellers, with a resilience that people can't even comprehend.
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What's 'Atlanta' about? Technically, it's about a couple guys who are friends, but to me, 'Atlanta' is about black lives. I'm getting a real look at what black life means in Atlanta.
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I love a web series. But to me, it does the girl in Detroit a disservice who just watches television. It does a disservice to the girl on the south side of Chicago who doesn't go online.
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The reason I get so excited about 'Master of None' is because it's showing people of color as regular people.
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I'm a big fan of Nora Ephron, who believed everything is copy, and I agree.
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All the writers for 'The Chi,' they're all phenomenal, so I'm just working on projects with them. They have great scripts.
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I can't stop my comedic voice.
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I love basketball! When I'm flying, and I have on sweats, a hat, and sneakers, people always assume that I'm a high school kid going to an away game. And I always say no, I'm a fan of the game.
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I actually really liked 'The Help.' I know that may not be a popular thing, but I thought it was a solid film. It wasn't 'Roots.' It wasn't 'The Color Purple.' But you couldn't pick it apart in terms of storytelling, and I thought the characters were well written.
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I'm a big believer in writing really good dialogue.
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I actually don't like saying 'lead character,' which is an interesting thing. If you say there's a lead, then there has to be someone to follow.
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I'm not asking for there to be all black writer's rooms or all Asian writer's rooms, or all white - I want them all to be diverse. When it's diverse, you're going to have a completely different dynamic. Everybody feels othered. Nobody feels like they've got the upper hand.
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I feel like I wanna have a series of moments. It's scary when they say you're having a moment, because moments are momentary.
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I never thought I would write about Chicago, and I definitely never thought I would write a drama.
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Growing up, I didn't just watch 'The Cosby Show.' I watched 'Growing Pains' and 'Family Ties,' too.
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I think that for the most part, black people specifically have sort of been used as props in TV shows as a way to move story along or as a way to make things more entertaining.
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I don't need an Emmy to tell me to go to work. I've been working.
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I got into the business because I love writing. When it came down to finding my voice, which every writer has to take time to do, I think I realized I write black people very well. I write us in a very honest way, and I want to hear the way we really talk.
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For me, my brand is good storytelling.
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People always go, 'Damn, how you got all this happening at once?' I tell them it's the Chicago in me.
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Being on Netflix lets us be experimental. We can do crazy things.
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Maybe some young girl seeing me on the Emmy stage may have meant something for them.
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The thing for me is to always tell the truth. Not to preach, but to tell the truth.
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I've been obsessed with television since I was 7 years old, and I've always been writing on some level.