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" After the first couple of years of on 'Black-ish,' my wife and I actually broke up. We got back together, and it was this really, really difficult time for me. "

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" The small moments I've had to talk with President Obama, I've told him, 'I get it.' His presidency was in some ways almost overshadowed by the fact that he was the first black president. "

Kenya Barris

Black

Him

Moments

" Actors are magical people. They can take words you wrote and say them in a way that, although you thought the line was good when you wrote it, it's fantastic when it comes out of their mouth. "

" When you reach a level of status - and making it to college is an accomplishment in itself - you are trying to define who you are. "

" I wanted to do a show about a family that is absolutely black. Because as Du Bois has shown, we do have to live a double consciousness every day in the world. We have to walk our path and walk the mainstream path, and there's never really been a show that's talked about what that's like. "

" When you walk past a painting in a museum, if it doesn't make you feel something, then it's probably a failure. "

" It's hard to take a stand. You're not going to make everybody happy. "

" I really want to do what 'Veep' did. 'Veep,' in a very comical way, gave us a look inside the political machine, but I want to do it for the average American family. "

" If Adam Sandler does a bad movie, he doesn't bring down the whole white race. But if Tyler Perry does, it's like, 'See what you guys do?' and that type of thing. "

" 'A Different World,' for me, was in a lot of ways responsible for me going to college. I wanted to go to a black college, and I wanted to get out of Los Angeles. It's just a natural part of all of our journeys, that idea of leaving home. "

Kenya Barris

Black

World

" Black, white, rich, poor - we galvanize through the hard times. We really see it happen in relationships. In the best and worst of those moments, you come together, and you look for your tribe. "

" I think that's the key to any artistic endeavor: You want it to feel fresh and not have people look at it like it's re-creation of something else unless it's done in a really strong way. "

" My mom went through civil rights; my dad went through civil rights. My name was Kenya because they wanted to give me an African name. "

Kenya Barris

Civil Rights

Name

" I tried to do Kwanzaa with my family and was like, 'This sucks. What am I doing this for?' For me, I felt like I was doing it because I was trying to live up to someone else's idea of what 'black' was. "

" For me, one of the big things I really worried about a lot was nuclear war growing up. "

" I've been on predominantly 'white' shows before, and I had also been on predominantly 'black' shows. I would complain that when I was on a white show, they would only hire me because there was a black character or they needed a black voice. But then I would be mad if they went and hired a white dude in my position. "

" As much as we want to say racism is dead, it's still rearing its ugly head constantly. "

" When I was growing up, I never saw couples fight on the family sitcoms I loved to watch. Subsequently, when tough times arose in my own relationship, I wasn't prepared and felt so isolated and alone. Marital issues weren't a part of the narrative that television told me was a 'working relationship.' "

" The acknowledgement and celebration of Juneteenth as an American and possibly international holiday is something that I would put in the life goals column for me. "

Kenya Barris

Goals

Holiday

" 'Black-ish' is a show that has spoken to all different types of people and brought them closer as a community, and I'm so proud of the series. "

" I don't know Channing Dungey well, but we have talked several times, and she seems like an amazing executive. "

" I have five kids, and people can say 'nature versus nurture,' but it is nature! Nurture has so little to do with it. I have five kids, and there are five totally different people in my house. "

" I believe comedy is a really good lens to filter serious issues through. If people are laughing, they don't necessarily realize until they stop laughing that they just took something in that's going to start a conversation. "

" I would say any creative person has that: you can't just force a topic. Whether you're a painter, you want to do a cartoon. Anything. Something may come up that's not your style or suited to what you are working on at the moment. So you file it away and hopefully find a place for it. "

" I am what I am as a writer because of Norman Lear and Spike Lee. Norman Lear in particular. "

" You can have good times with anyone, but it's really different and much more interesting when you look at how you get through the bad times with someone. "

" I feel like money is an interesting thing when you don't come from it. "

Kenya Barris

Money

Feel

" I wanted to be a doctor, because I grew up on 'Cosby.' "

" I'm a huge fan of writing for people rather than writing and then trying to wedge people in. I'd love to know who the people are before I can write for them. For me, it's a much more organic way to create characters. "

Kenya Barris

Love

Writing

" You get a little older, and you start understanding the world in a different way and what you don't have control over and what you do have control over. "

" I want to make sure I don't leave any money for my kids, so I'm going to spend it all on clothes. "