I happen to be a hopeaholic. I tend to look at problems as an opportunity to do some work.

Some people study a text very deeply. The people are my text. I study their words and what their words sound like, over and over again.

Racism has been for everyone like a horrible, tragic car crash, and we've all been heavily sedated from it. If we don't come into consciousness of this tragedy, there's going to be a violent awakening we don't want. The question is, can we wake up?

I never know when somebody's going to knock on the door of my own unconscious in a way that I wouldn't have anticipated.

Movies, as evidenced by a chorus of protesting and celebrating Americans, influence broader trends.

Some people study a text very deeply. The people are my text. I study their words and what their words sound like, over and over again. When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country. It doesn't matter how educated they are. By living in the world and living their experiences, they bring extraordinary truths. I try to do those truths justice.

I mean, I think a healthy country is a country where people are healthy physically, and a smart country is a country where people are educated.