Tituss Burgess Quotes

We need to diversify the people who are backstage and producing and marketing these shows. It's the limitations of these people that are holding Broadway back.

I was making big paintings with mythological themes. When I started painting black figures, the white professors were relieved, and the black students were like, 'She's on our side.' These are the kinds of issues that a white male artist just doesn't have to deal with.

I'm not going to change the world overnight. It's one person at a time, and hopefully they're people in positions of power who can help people get in those roles and really, truly embrace colorblind casting.

Actors have no color. That's the art form.

I don't think we can undo the past. … We have to do the best we can now...I don't think quotas are a good idea...I don't think quotas are a good idea. I think it is a mistake to begin to assign quotas on the basis of religion or race or color, or nationality. … We are too mixed, this society of ours, to begin to divide ourselves on the basis of race or color.

Nobody wants to be in a position of defending anything Fox might do for minorities.

When I started my pathway, black players were often considered to be good wingers, good players, but not captain or management material. It has changed since then, which is pleasing, but we still have so far to go.

I perform at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where my race and gender are rarely pointed out.

I would never bring in a player to make a statement.

I can't compete for roles that require me to be Caucasian or African American, even if those characters really connect with me and intrigue me.

I was the first black director on 'Dallas.' I drove my car into the studio lot and the guard asked me who I was delivering to.

If you exclude a group of people from the boardroom or the leadership ranks of a company, the company is not as good as it could be.

When I stopped racing, I kept being asked to comment on diversity in the sport but I really felt I had done my part.

It's so refreshing when I walk in and see a bunch of Asian actresses all competing for the same role because it makes me feel like I have a genuine shot.

On a radio drama, I'd like to feel that I had just as much chance of playing Mr. Darcy as anyone else because I can sound like him, yet many radio producers find it very difficult to extend their imaginations to employing anyone who's non-white.

I don't know how one would define an affirmative-action hire. I ultimately do not know what role race played in my hiring.

I have never wavered from my intention to advance the cause of diversity in new and more effective ways.

We cannot reform institutional racism or systemic policies if we are not actively engaged. It's not enough to simply complain about injustice; the only way to prevent future injustice is to create the society we would like to see, one where we are all equal under the law.

Hollywood isn't ready for an Indian leading man.

Diversifying our tech talent pool is an imperative for the tech sector. More diverse engineers and entrepreneurs will bring about a new type of innovation that Silicon Valley has yet to see.

You must make sure that the majority of the people are not marginalized.

I want to be elected on my own ability. Only then do you have progress... People should not use race as a basis for labelling me.

I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess... I want to be a producer. I want to be an activist. I want to be proactive in bringing about work for men, women, boys, girls, everybody who is good at what they do and deserve a shot at it.

I hope to see more programming, more shows, more actors of mixed ethnicity, more young kids of mixed ethnicity choosing to be in the entertainment industry.

I felt that it was my mission to see to it that black talent had an opportunity to get national television exposure.