Jenna Wortham Quotes

There haven't been enough profound things written about what being black means and what a black character is. Nobody knows.

The way black people feel, especially, is if you're going to tell a black story, let it come from a real place.

What's 'Atlanta' about? Technically, it's about a couple guys who are friends, but to me, 'Atlanta' is about black lives. I'm getting a real look at what black life means in Atlanta.

Kanye West does not represent all black people.

I feel like being vocal on social media, especially working in an industry that is very Eurocentric.

'Smart, Funny and Black' is about celebrating, critiquing and learning about black culture, black history, and the black experience.

I love being black in America, and especially being black in Hollywood.

You know, I'm an African-American quarterback. That may scare a lot of people because they - they haven't seen nothing that they can compare me to.

People are tired of mainstream media's limited and confined portrayal of people of color.

So, I was sitting there and I watched 'Paranormal Activity' and I was like, 'Boy, white people do dumb stuff in movies.' So I was like, 'Why don't they just leave the house... What if paranormal activity happened to a black couple?'

If you are a black athlete, celebrity or media personality living, socializing, working, studying or dating in the white community, the easiest way to stop Twitter trolls from spamming your social media with accusations of race betrayal is to celebrate BLM. If you’re an educated, nerdy, proper-speaking black person who has been chastised for “acting white” by your black peers, supporting BLM salvages your black image.

There's always been a quiet conversation and joke that if you're not hard, if you're not from impoverished neighborhoods, if you're not certain constructs of a black stereotype, then you not black.

Stories about race and identity pique my interest for obvious reasons. That's in my body, my brain, my history, my memories - it's all part of my toolbox as an actor.

The truth of the matter is, there were shows that depicted black characters that were on in the '90s, and they gave everybody a glimpse into the black experience. And then they disappeared.

Why do we always have to see black people in hindsight? Why are the Hollywood movies always historical? What about the contemporary image of black people?

The black experience for me has been very interesting. Some days, I wake up, and I feel really black. Some days, I'm like, 'This is me. I'm black. Black Lives Matter. Black pride. Look at my cocoa skin.' I just feel it's my being.

I don't think there is enough understanding of how diverse black America actually is.

There is an imagined thing called black culture. But culture is a construction. It is learned behavior, not innate. The black American experience is the American experience.

My 'Black Panther' run really wasn't about Black Panther. It was about Ross. It was about exploding myths about black superheroes, black characters, and black people, targeted specifically at a white, male-dominated retailer base.

Blacks are tired of seeing whites saying, 'I understand you.' You need a black to direct a black film.

It really upsets me that the media insists on turning 'Do the Right Thing' or 'Boyz N the Hood' into 'black films.' They are American films. They may open the window on the black experience, but they had things to say to everybody. That's why they were so successful.

I just want to tell black stories.

When I see the black experience - there's not one, but it is specific, and you can't ignore it.

The black experience isn't exclusively slavery/civil rights/Obama.

I think I am the first person of color to direct a major white play on Broadway. In 1993? That's astounding to me. And horrifying to me.