Hollywood loves to pat itself on the back and espouse their rhetorically liberal points of view while they continue to be the 1 percent and point the finger at the other guy.

The images that people see in the media of black people - whether journalistic or narrative - remain horrible. And those images, combined with the lack of respect among black people in the poorer neighborhoods for themselves, and the part the police and other people coming into those neighborhoods play, it creates no value for life.

There was a lynching case as late as 2011, so it's not as far away as we think. I think persecution by powerful structures, on a people who are marginalized, is not new. The idea of lynching is well known, and the way we present it in the play makes the lynching somewhat of a relief, compared to the barbaric treatment they were receiving as sharecroppers.

There may have been great scripts, and perfect actors to fill the roles, but those pilot projects could be stopped at an earlier point. Now, damn near anything can get on the air, but who can get people to watch? There are a lot more choices, even if you get on the air.

Racism is a common thread among people of color, even though each experience with it is different.

I think that one thing that America is guilty of is not ever apologizing for the greatest sin of the country, which is slavery.

I think that in some ways there is no more important thing in my life outside of family and God.