Gary Owen Quotes

I'm not for having to support everything that's black, because I definitely don't. But I do feel like it is imperative for us to see that we are not a monolithic people.

I don't want to take too much responsibility, where I'm like, 'Oh, I'm representing Asia.'

I'm not just a black man, I'm a brotha. I love my people. When I'm on the air I am fully aware that I am not just representing myself but representing us.

I believe that we have to be so race-conscious in this day and age.

The reactions haven't differed; the concerns have been different. When I read for a predominantly Indian audience, there are more questions that are based on issues of identity and representation.

In Atlanta, with a large African-American population, Sosa is often considered a black man. In Miami and Los Angeles, with larger Hispanic populations, he is a Latino man, and the black label is rejected as robbing Hispanics of a hero.

Some Indians will come up and say that a story reminded them of something very specific to their experience. Which may or may not be the case for non-Indians.

I don't mind being black. I'm black out loud. It's more than the people that they are, it's the condition that they represent.

I talk about race and culture, and that's what my fans respond to. If you grew up in an environment where race and culture were never an issue for you, or where you don't see the humor in our so-called differences, then you might not respond to what I'm doing.

I don't see a white woman. I see a black woman, even though my mother is white. Knowing that has made my life easier, I think.

If we dismiss from our minds the prejudice we may have against the Indians we shall be able to more clearly understand the impulses that govern both races.

Kids that I went to school with didn't know how to interact with black people like that. There were only, like, three or four black kids in the class.

Every race I've been in, I calculated race into the equation. If you're in America, you calculate it into the equation. It is a factor. I never make it an issue. I don't run the campaign wearing it on my sleeve, but I don't run away from it, either.

My humour comes from acknowledging different communities. That's what my fans are responding to - they know that I 'get it.' I understand them. I take the time to understand them. I get more complaints from people when I don't talk about them. I've had guys come up to me after a show and go, 'You didn't talk about Latvians!'

I had one incident where my daughter said that a girl asked if she was a brown person. I said, 'We're black. You have black people, white people, Chinese people, Hispanic people; we're all brought up differently.'

As far as diversity's concerned, there's me, there's Al Madrigal, there's Aasif Mandvi. But I'm not walking around feeling black all the time. That would stress me out.

We call each other colored people, black people, but not negro…

In my opinion, it would be a lot better for the culture - meaning the culture of America - if there was more diversity in terms of storyline. In terms of the kind of content that you see about Americans of African descent on the screen.

Some people in America don't ever interact with black people outside of television, so we should give them real, believable characters.

I'm tired of cookie-cutter monolithic representation of black folks.

I want authenticity. And rarely do actors - more specifically, black actors - get a chance to be authentic on film and television.

To me, we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world. Black people. And I mean that in every sense.

We did a black 'Julius Caesar' in which the predominant accent was Caribbean. This offends many people, you know. I also had a Chinese Marc Anthony. I also managed - this caused a great shock - I also got some white guys in it as well!

There has to be more opportunities for Asian or black actors.

When I started, I was aware of using the black as a rhetorical device. It's understanding that black people come in a wide range of colors, but you find instances in a lot of black literature in which the blackness is used as a metaphor. In some places, you can find an extreme blackness used as a descriptive.