Nafessa Williams Quotes

Barack Obama makes me feel good to be a black man.

Do you have any idea what Ali meant to black people? He was the leader of a nation, the leader of Black America. As a young black, at times I was ashamed of my color; I was ashamed of my hair. And Ali made me proud.

With my representation of a black woman in the world today, there's such a powerful response from my community about what it means to have black representation on television. That response is so overwhelming and so strong that I just have to express my own gratitude for it, because I understand the necessity for it.

I had a wonderful father, and I couldn't bear that television virtually ignored black fathers.

The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.

I don't like to see projects that are all black or all white. It's how life is. I do like to make sure that I do a nice black family film; that's like keeping my home base. I do other things, but I like to always come back to a positive family film, because of all the negative influences today.

In our music, in our everyday life, there are so many negative things. Why not have something positive and stamp it with blackness?

The family has a social function and so it should be sustained.

There are many positive things to say about the black community. No question about it.

When was the last time you saw a straight black love story without any guns?

I do want to be a representative of the African community, and I want to hold myself and dress myself in a way that reflects that. I want black kids to see me and think, 'Okay, he's carrying himself as a black man, and that's how a black man should carry himself.'

I like representing different kinds of black people - showing they exist.

I'm a breath of fresh air, and there hasn't been something this black on TV for a very long time.

Black is beautiful.

Supporting black professional athletes was taken seriously in my home.

I can't wait to see little white kids dressing up as Black Panther.

Every February, we reflect on and honor the achievements, struggles, and icons that comprise Black history. As a proud, Black man running for office and raising two young, Black boys in the South, I am acutely aware that I stand on the shoulders of giants.

In America, black is a country.

It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa, that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.

It would certainly would be great to see more films featuring the black family and showing that we are capable of having that unit strong and present and beautiful, because that's so much of who we really are.

You can never get two members of the family to agree on anything.

I don't like the term 'black film,' and I am proud to be black.

My dad left his psychology hat at the door and put his dad hat on when he came into the house. It's amazing having my dad have that awesome job. My mother was a model back in the day. I've seen the pictures. My mother's beautiful.

I told my kids, 'It doesn't matter if this person or that person in the family isn't perfect; this is what you've got. We have to work with that, and if you can't work with that, then you're just jumping into someone else's family, and there's always going to be something missing if you don't work that out.'