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" My dad and his sister, who is no longer with us, used to dance on the streets for money. They had nothing. "

Courtney A. Kemp

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" Any underrepresented audience loves to see themselves on TV, but what's more important is that we're writing about universal themes - good versus evil, can you change yourself? These themes resonate for everyone. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" There are so many different things that create an alchemy of success. Just like there are so many different things that create an alchemy of a failure. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" 'Power' would never have gotten on the air if the folks at Starz weren't saying to themselves, 'This is an underserved audience.' It was a financial decision, not a benevolent decision based on a need to change the industry. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When I was pitching 'Power,' I had an executive say, 'Well, I already have a black show.' He said that right to my face. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I don't write scenes where one person is right and one person is wrong. It's very much by design that everyone has a point of view that you as an audience member can understand. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" My dad was very, very invested in image. He felt that as a black person, the thing you could control was how did you look, how did you dress, how did you sound, how did you smell, how did you act. All of that stuff that you could control would absolutely have a strong impact on your access. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I say a prayer several times a day about what I can control and what I can't control. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Every writer should be able to write anything if you do the research and you're sensitive enough to ask the questions. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Humans are powerless, and even in our exercise of free will, either the Universe is gonna get down with your plan, or it isn't. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I don't want to be seen in a way where all I can do is what people expect of me. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I am tired of people using 'diverse' to mean 'of color.' That's not what that word means. 'Diversity' means people of all different races, all together - like a New York City subway. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" People are realizing that there is a financial consequence to not opening doors. It doesn't mean that they are any more inclusive in their hearts - it means they're more inclusive in their wallets. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I always like to write myself into a corner. I think the best stuff comes from only having a few ways out. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I remember watching episodes of 'The Sopranos' and being filled with dread knowing what was coming or anticipating what was coming. I don't think that that's always a bad thing. I think sometimes the audience needs a little catharsis held away from them. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Writers are, for the most part, crazy people. We're like Hephaestus of the forge. We're gnarled. We're curled over. We walk with a limp. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When it comes to power as it functions between humans, it all comes down to desire. If you know what someone wants, you can control them. It is as simple as that. And the reverse is also true: If you have control over your own desires, no one will ever own you. As humans, we are plagued with desire - it consumes us, it fuels us, it destroys us. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I very much want to write about some elements of my own growing up. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" New York is the center of the world. I grew up in Connecticut, outside of the city, and my father commuted to the city for work. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" We use the word 'urban' to mean black or Latino, but that's not what the word means. It actually means 'from the city.' I'm not from the city. I'm from the suburbs of Connecticut. I grew up with mostly all white people. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Wherever I go, stuff accumulates. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" The story always leads you where it's supposed to go. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I think it's really cool that someone could have ovaries and the presidency. Growing up, I thought I could never be president because I was black and female. Now I know that's wrong. Within my own lifetime - that's different. Within my lifetime, interracial couples are more common. Within my own lifetime, biracial folks are able to claim that. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" In college, I didn't know whether to hang out with the black kids or the white kids, and then I found the theatre kids, and I was like, 'Oh, it doesn't matter.' We were all weird and listening to Morrissey and wearing Doc Martens so that was my tribe. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" The baseline character in a lot of Western literature is a man. So we, as women, do a lot of suspending of our disbelief to experience a novel or a play or a movie through that male character. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" If everyone knows the role they play, and they do their job - executing it well and with enthusiasm - it comes together successfully every time. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" What I'm about to say won't be popular, but it's true: If being a television showrunner is the job you want, and you are a woman, I would not suggest you have children. The reality is that you just cannot do both well. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When you pretend to be an authority on everything, it forces your subordinates to defer to your opinion - which may not be the most informed in the room. If you have humility concerning the gaps in your experience or ability, it allows others to shine. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" I knew I wanted to write professionally and get paid. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" When I first arrived in Los Angeles from New York in 2004 to try to break into television, I couldn't believe how segregated it was - how many neighborhoods were nearly all-white or all-black or -Asian or -Latino. "

Courtney A. Kemp

" Show-running is a very difficult job that includes so many responsibilities; I'm working with the actors, working with directors, writing, making decisions like, 'What fabric is that sofa gonna be?' "

Courtney A. Kemp