I was able to do To Sleep with Anger, a very powerful film about African Americans, their spirituality, and the things that happened within a small community and a family.

There is a lack of leadership outside the Beltway, outside of politics.

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.

Democracy is about criticism. I didn't elect Obama because he's a black; I voted for Obama because he was the right person at the time. Period. The exceptionalism of a black U.S. President is not important to me. It's what he does. And who he has at the table. And what he does to change the world - that's what's important.

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

I was involved with the anti-apartheid movement through my work as an artist and also through my political commitment.

It's a misconception to believe that the resistance ended with the civil rights movement.