Nafessa Williams Quotes

I grew up watching cinema in my country that wasn't telling stories about us, and we had to find a way to connect, and our references, our role models had nothing to do with us. And I'm so glad that it's changing.

I want to be in everything, but that's because I haven't seen someone who looks like me in everything. I want to play a superhero. I want to be the love interest. I want to write my own stuff and create my own projects. I want to be in French films.

It's important, as a young person of color, to see yourself reflected in the media.

Mustafa Ali is who I wanted to see when I was growing up. I'm not wearing anything on my head; I'm not saying anything in Arabic. I'm just going to come out as Mustafa Ali.

'Essence' is political. I grew up on the magazine, looking at the covers. Seeing ourselves on the cover is political.

I would love to see an Asian American superhero.

It's not about just diversity; it's about authenticity. Audiences are really excited to see more of themselves on the screen.

I feel that its important for me to be out there and to represent the face. At the same time, for me as an individual, I think the Asian-American face can be crowded with the American identity.

With 'Black Panther,' black artists were provided with the opportunity and agency to create art that captures the full range of their imaginative possibilities. It matters that Chadwick Boseman is the protagonist and is supported by a cast of nearly all black characters.

I've had so many parents DM me on social media thanking me because I simply have dreadlocks, because their daughters wear dreadlocks and play with dreadlocks, and I'm like, 'Well why not? Let's do it.' It's really cool to be able to inspire the younger generation of kids of color that look like us.

Even being part of a world like 'Black Panther,' that is gonna be something that's deeply commercial, it still is about a narrative of people who are unseen, unheard, and unrepresented, you know?

I'm just really excited to expose people to different identities, different conversations but also to kind of reframe how they think about black women just by being myself.

I am a woman, and I am a Latina. Those are the things that make my writing distinctive. Those are the things that give my writing power.

It's about how you exist as a person in the world, and the idea that your work is more important than you as a person is a horrible, horrible message. I always think about a little gay boy in Wisconsin or a little lesbian in Arkansas seeing someone like me, and if I cannot be open in my life, how on earth can they?

I feel I'll take on the responsibility of showing the world a whole different kind of Latin woman.

I give a speech to the black freshmen at Harvard each year, and I say, 'You can like Mozart and ice hockey...' - and then I used to say 'golf,' but Tiger took over golf! - 'and Picasso and still be as black as the ace of spades.'

I want to make films that make a difference. I want to be out and hope that that will make things better for gay people and for myself. I hope one day I can start to make the kind of projects or be involved with kind of projects that can really make a difference.

I thought, 'Oh, this is great,' because maybe someone who does look like me will watch 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and realize that they can be an actor if they want to be, or they can be a superhero. They can have a hero that looks like them as well.

I know one of the reasons I first started making Youtube videos was because no one looks like me.

Now I've devoted my life to making sure that I can be a trailblazer for any other African American kids or any other gay kids or any other kids that just feel weird or uncomfortable and have their own issues and don't know how to express themselves. I want to be like a beacon for those kids now.

I remember watching Barbra Streisand and seeing Jennifer Grey in 'Dirty Dancing' - these were people who acted like me and looked like me. Now it's great that everyone on 'Glee' is so unique and people can relate to us and look up to us.

I remember seeing 'Snow White' and saying to my mother, 'Will there ever be a Chocolate Brown?' She said 'Probably. Why not?' I just never thought the first black princess would be me.

I'm proud of my roots. There are not many Asians in the music industry so it's important for me to tell people where I'm from.

I wasn't able to relate to anyone on TV growing up, so I wanted to bring my own experiences to the screen.

It meant something to see people who looked like me in comic books. It was this beautiful place that I felt pop culture should look like.