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" Marian Wright Edelman is a mentor and hero of mine. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

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" We used to play touch football, where you put the little rag in your pocket. I was good because I was fast. I wasn't the greatest at catching. Sometimes the ball would come so hard and fast that it'd knock the wind out of me. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" There's a lot of progress happening in TV. You have amazing shows like 'How to Get Away With Murder.' You have people like Shonda Rhimes, Lee Daniels with 'Empire,' and Jason Katims with 'Friday Night Lights' and 'Parenthood.' You have people behind the scenes writing complex women. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" My mom is from New Orleans. And all of my maternal relatives were there during Katrina. We couldn't even find my uncle for four months. We literally didn't know where he was. I had been there just four days before the storm hit. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" We got spoiled with 'Friday Night Lights.' Not every show is like that, and on other shows, if you try to bring that same truth or that same approach, the system of television doesn't always allow for that level of collaboration, which is unfortunate because the work would be richer. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I have a complex heritage: my mom is African American, and my dad is Jewish. Both were activists, and they met during the movement in the '70s. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" The slave narratives, there is a wealth of research there, because you are hearing stories from the first person account, and that's a whole different thing than reading about it in the history books. You're able to really personalize it. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" There's injustices within our system that we inherited from this time, from slavery, and until we confront our past, we're not going to be able to heal the wounds for our future. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I read so many scripts, and it's not really exciting to just be the girlfriend. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Little Richard played my uncle on 'Full House.' He's fabulous. I remember him being incredibly kind to me. I just remember him being super, super nice. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Marriage is a work in progress, but it's beautiful. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I walk in a space of gratitude. I'm so grateful to God for blessing me with an amazing family and the opportunity to do what I love. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I wouldn't say I'm a Method actor, but there are times where a role will require you to live in their world. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" As women, I think we give so much of ourselves. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Far too often, I read a script where the girls are the girlfriend or the set dressing. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" My siblings are so talented. My sister's a producer, and my brothers and I all write. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" After being a mom, we are now in a different chapter in our womanhood, and instead of trying to be our old selves or get our old body back, we should embrace who we are now. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" There's something about driving through Texas, and it's hot, your skin is sticking to you. The environment affects your attitude and your swagger. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Part of an ensemble show is realizing it's a collaboration. It's like a symphony. Everybody takes their turn, but it's really the collective group that matters. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Oftentimes, a history book in school will talk about the Underground Railroad as if it's one sentence. But thousands of people decided to run, and they single-handedly changed the trajectory of our nation. By running to the North, they put a face to slavery, which recruited a lot of abolitionists. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" We all try to pretend we're the person we want to be when we're really not, and you've just gotta be willing to say, 'Here are all my flaws; here's who I am - take it or leave it. If you love me still, then let's do this.' "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" There's this notion, kind of like unspoken, that you can't live your dreams and be a mom. You can't have a career and be a mom. There's still that preconceived notion, and I reject that. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I always said, 'Whenever I get pregnant, I'm going to embrace all of the body changes that happen.' My focus has not been on any sort of snap-back or anything like that, because your body won't be the same after giving birth, and if anything, that's something to be celebrated, embraced, and owned. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" My mom bought me an 'Anne of Green Gables' journal. And I just remember thinking it was so cool, and I could write anything in it. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I wouldn't be able to tackle a character like Rosalee on 'Underground' without having tackled the many characters I've played before. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" Henry Louis Gates is such a wealth of knowledge in himself. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" How often do you see young actors playing scholars? Or striving to be intellectuals, you know? It's not that often. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" My dream role is actually behind the camera. I want to direct. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I'm so proud of 'Underground' because it's this thriller; it's this action- adventure. It's unexpected. People think it's gonna one be one thing - they think it's gonna be very depressing and downtrodden - and it's empowering. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" I'm very grateful to have been able to work with so many talented filmmakers and actors during my career. I've learned so much from them. It's been my college, in a way. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell

" They did laugh; they did fall in love. And while they were under incredibly oppressive conditions, they constantly were trying to steal pleasures. When you go back to the slave narratives, and you read books like the 'Bullwhip Days' or 'Incidents in the Life of the Slave Girl,' they will share what life was like, and it's a 365-degree view. "

Jurnee Smollett-Bell