Words matter. These are the best Mara Brock Akil Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
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.
I can’t disappear. I come from a family of beautiful women, strong women – and ‘strong’ defined by being themselves.
I went to journalism school, so sometimes writing the script of ‘Being Mary Jane’ is me putting my journalism hat on.
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 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.
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.
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’ve been having a 20-plus year conversation with black women, starting with ‘Girlfriends,’ moving through ‘The Game,’ ‘Being Mary Jane,’ even ‘Sparkle.’
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.
I wanted always to be a storyteller of the fullest expression.
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 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’m trying to talk about challenging subjects people might not like and trying to find relief as we discuss it.
I believe in divine order all the time.
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.
One of the most powerful things we have is to tell our story.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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.
