I've worked so hard to just be my full self and God has just validated me in so many ways.

That [Louisiana culture] was all very new to me. I read books and watched documentaries, just trying to immerse myself.

Everyone has a platform, so if we could just use that and combine what we have and know -we talk about it in private - we might as well talk about it [publicly] together.

Working with Ava [ DuVernay] and Oprah [Winfrey], they're just so intimate. I feel like we're really family at this point.

I feel like the stillness of Ralph Angel - him being formerly incarcerated, being a Black man, being misunderstood in this world, I felt like that brought him to a place where he thought he had to be an observer - externally and internally.

People respect us, they love us and they're entertained by us, so it's like when you trust somebody on that level, it's a lot easier to speak some real knowledge into their minds.

As a kid, there [on TV] were things I wasn't aware of - insecurities while transition from teen to adult. When I was around 17 and 18, I started seeing the benefits of this world.