President Obama is a man who had certain advantages because of the civil rights movement. He had the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in this country - schools that train you how to run the political paradigm, not challenge it. The leaders of the Black Power Movement were challenging that paradigm.

I'm not so vain as to believe that my involvement changes anything whatsoever.

Some of these things I saw in foreign films - African films, Cuban films - long before I decided to really go on this course as an actor. I started to think about what values I saw in those films that I wanted to bring to my projects

President [Barack] Obama is a man who had certain advantages because of the civil rights movement.

It's important for people of color to link up with issues around globalization, food security, health, the environment.

When you've moved past a point where you're just scrambling for jobs, you think about the things that you want to do. And the things that you want to do are governed by what you've seen, what you choose to embrace

When someone you know passes on, the only thing you can do is keep moving forward.