It is time to celebrate the New Black Americans - those who have sealed the Deal, who aren't beholden to liberal indulgence any more than they are to the disdain of the hard Right. It is time to praise blacks who are merely undeniable in their individuality and exemplary in their levels of achievement.

For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.

Kraop was the sound that I heard. Heard it twice – kraop, kraop – one time each for my two fingers that got broke. I heard my bones pop before I felt anything, gunshot-loud they echoed in my ears. Maybe that was the tip-off what’d just happened was going to hurt like hell. Wrong. It hurt so bad, I didn’t feel a thing.

There’s no substitute for imagination, but creativity is only enhanced when forged with life experience.

Obama is the New Generation and the hot light of a dawn that goes way beyond clever talk of morning in America.

I've written films that are violent. I'm not big on sitting and watching violence.

At an early age, I knew there were a lot of things I couldn't do. My father was a doctor, and my mother was a teacher. I knew I wasn't good in numbers, and I knew I wouldn't work well in overly structured environments.

Bigots are actually funny to me in the way that people who still wear parachute pants give me a chuckle.

I understand politicos gotta make bank. But cloistering with the Hollywood elite is not how you prove you're a man of the people.

When people come in the door and they have something, discovering and exploring the character is a real joy.