It was really always about bringing back [James] Baldwin's words in all their rawness, in all their impact - in the way he analyzes not only this country but also the history of this country, the images that this country is fabricating through Hollywood, and what consequence that has in our imagination.

Your tweet is as important as if you would have written a Ph.D. [dissertation] on the subject.

[James] Baldwin "was one of greatest intellectuals of his time. He was an important voice, period, not an important black voice."

Over the years, he disappeared - like a lot of our leaders disappear. [James Baldwin] was not assassinated, but somehow he went through those assassinations as if it was himself. I think that broke him as well.

The system gives you two minutes to phrase a whole history.

Today, I don't even think that people like [James Baldwin] are possible. He would not have that much room.

I started to read James Baldwin very early on in my life. At a time, as a young adult in the Sixties, when there were not that many authors in whom I could recognize myself, he was an important guide and mentor to me as he was to many others. He helped me understand who I was and decipher the world around me. He gave me the words to defend myself and the argumentative rhetoric to master discussions with others.