I was born knowing I had to go to college.
— Mara Brock Akil
Sometimes, we only get to know someone as one aspect of who they are. Then you start peeling back the layers and understanding more and more about who they are - their vulnerabilities, their fears, their joys, all those other words that equal humanity.
I can't disappear. I come from a family of beautiful women, strong women - and 'strong' defined by being themselves.
Where I thrive is with my hands on the keyboard or my pen on the paper. One of the things I get to do is I get to rewrite. I rewrite, and I work hard on my scripts. You can rewrite until you're 'perfect,' and that's something that's safe for me.
I went to journalism school, so sometimes writing the script of 'Being Mary Jane' is me putting my journalism hat on.
I've kinda been an off-Broadway sensation. There aren't a lot of lights or big marquees around my name or my work, yet my core audience knows exactly where I am.
I've been having a 20-plus year conversation with black women, starting with 'Girlfriends,' moving through 'The Game,' 'Being Mary Jane,' even 'Sparkle.'
To choose love and jump in not knowing, with a lot of unknowns, is a brave act.
With 'Girlfriends,' even with 'The Game,' or even with 'Being Mary Jane,' I didn't get a chance to wrap up the story and, more specifically, show love.
We still have a lot of work to do in American culture. More open-mindedness is happening - in some cases rapidly, in some, slowly.
I often attribute my screenwriting to journalism because they drill in the who, what, when, where and why - but we really need to land on that why. That's what I've been exploring in my writing for many years and trying to get better at.
I love writing about black women, but if you go beyond that, we're human beings - and because we're human beings, it's universal for everybody.
I believe in divine order all the time.
For me, I start at the place that my characters are human. I start at the place that they are onions that are layered and meant to be peeled, just as we as human beings are.
I think what is magic about black-girl hair is, at its basic level, it's just resilient. It can go from straight to curly in the same day. It's just transformative. When you don't feel so strong, the hair can be a sign of empowerment.
It's funny that black men, at first, were worried about a show called 'Girlfriends' because they thought that black men were gonna get bashed. They realized, 'Wait a minute - we're respected in this story.'
Technology has changed our industry, and I think that's opened up different revenue streams and ways to make money and distribute television. It's made the global conversation easier, quicker.
When you realize you don't own someone, you show up every day to try to make sure they stay in your life.
In 'Girlfriends,' I was exploring the idea of having it all. In 'Being Mary Jane,' I was exploring the idea that you have to be the center of everything.
When I was in '97, I didn't know I was in a very major moment. But with the privilege of reflection, I do. And that's what artists should do - they should help illuminate and reflect the human condition.
I think pregnancy, like life, is what you make it. I received a good hand. I'm thankful and blessed and so peaceful and can't wait to welcome my son.
I'm trying to talk about challenging subjects people might not like and trying to find relief as we discuss it.
If you want something, work hard for it, go after it. I can't worry about all the 'no's, because I believe there's a yes, and I've been very fortunate to find those in my career and made the most of those opportunities.
Any form of media is an opportunity to be a mirror and reflection of what we are experiencing more in the details of our life. What makes it fun and unique in a lot of ways is how that journey is changing just by the mere fact of the current time.
I'm hoping that the legacy of 'Girlfriends' is just that you can enjoy and connect to Joan, Maya, Toni, Lynn, and William and see your humanity reflected in theirs. That's what I'm hoping that it did.
One of the most powerful things we have is to tell our story.
With directing, it's all out there, in the moment and in real-time. The pressure and all of the eyes are on you, and you've gotta do it. That is the place that made me nervous.
I was nurtured by Ralph Farquhar and then, later, by Sara Finney-Johnson and Vida Spears, two black women. So, I actually was nurtured by my culture, in a safe environment that allowed me to build my confidence. And Debbie Allen was one of my mentors, along with Stan Lathan.
When I walk into a room, I know my storytelling has value and I have to sell my idea. I have to help people see the financial value and gain in my work.
That's what this industry is all about - supporting artists and supporting storytellers and hearing the audience for what they want and need. There still is a lack of value for what black women want, yet we have proven to be one of the strongest consumers in the marketplace.
I wanted always to be a storyteller of the fullest expression.
I'm very connected and passionate about what I put out in the world, and I want to get things safely to shore.
A staple of my personality is that I want what I want - and I'm willing to do without until I get it.
I'm not afraid of stereotypes. There are some truths to it - but the problem is that people keep sort of owning that one thing to be the truth.
Being black, Latino, or Asian is not a genre. Romantic comedies, thrillers, action - those are genres. I think there's a lot of people who want to have the conversation. I don't think people are afraid of it, I just think it's the time to have that conversation. Race is not a genre.
