It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.

Everybody does what they want to do for their own specific reasons.

First of all, what in this world does not revolve around money? But money is a big part of film, unlike a lot of other art forms.

There's a lot of Americans, black and white, who think that we've arrived where we need to be and nothing else needs to be done and affirmative action needs to be dismantled.

I don't see any negativity with what Brad Pitt is doing with his Make It Right Foundation, or what Sean Penn is trying to do in Haiti.

The truth is I've been doing Kickstarter before there was Kickstarter; there was no Internet. Social Media was writing letters, making phone calls, beating the bushes.

Since the days of slavery, if you were a good singer or dancer, it was your job to perform for the master after dinner.