Lena Waithe Quotes
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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.
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Like 'Sex and the City' - if you're a New Yorker, you knew half the places they were going to. I want 'The Chi' to feel that way as well.
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Things meant to appeal to the masses usually end up appealing to no one.
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When people think of the South Side of Chicago, they don't think about where I'm from. It was sort of a pocket: this idyllic community of black people who took care of each other, knew each other, spent time with each other.
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For me, it's about making art that's not good but phenomenal. James Baldwin didn't want to just stay above the fray. Prince didn't think, 'I wonder what the industry is gonna think about 'Purple Rain.'' It's just, is this honest? Is this real? Does this move me? The rest is icing.
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The things that make us different, those are our superpowers.
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I'm queen of mentorship.
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When you're not as accessible, you get in a tent and get in your own head, and you start doing things that are a little out of touch. I think we've seen it happen with certain artists... people can't touch them; they're not touching people. They're only touching people in their circle.
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There's so many other talented women of color who write funny things every day, and I want them to be recognized, I want them to have a seat at the table because we're out here.
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My family still lives in Chicago: my mother, my sister, my nephew, my family is there. So even though I am not living there, I feel very close to it, and I visit very often.
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I don't like beating people on the head with the message. I don't like standing on the soapbox.
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My aesthetic is very black.
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Every black man in Chicago walks through the world differently, and I think what young black boys do is observe, and that's what gives them their road map.
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I never want to feel too far away from people. I think that's when you get in trouble.
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The cool thing about dope black style becoming in style is that the industry has no choice but to try and reduplicate that.
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'The Breakfast Club' was one of my favorites.
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It was a symbolic moment when 'Moonlight' literally took the Oscar out of 'La La Land's' hand.
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I watched a ton of TV because I was raised by a single mom and spent a lot of time with my grandmother. Like most grandparents do, she would spend hours and hours in front of the TV box.
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I'm a black woman, so I'm obviously not going to write something where women aren't at the forefront.
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There's a lot of Donald Glovers, Jordan Peeles, Justin Simiens. And there's a lot of me's, too.
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The truth is, for me, when I was a young black girl who knew I was different, was watching TV, I would always be staring at the TV set looking for myself, and I didn't see me. And when you don't see yourself, you start to think that you don't matter, or you start to think that something is wrong with you.
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I knew very early on I wanted to be a television writer. My teachers told me I was a strong writer and had a voice. I really leaned in to that.
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I write for my people.
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I think, to me, I always want to tell the truth. I never want to sugarcoat things. I've never been accused of pulling punches.