“I was nurtured by Ralph Farquhar and then, later, by Sara Finney-Johns...” — Mara Brock Akil Quote

“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 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.”

“I think in Boston we had three great players in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.”

“I loved Woody Allen's short pieces. I was equally influenced by Woody Allen and Norman Mailer. I was very into this idea of being high-low, of being serious and intellectual but also making really broad jokes.”

“Your principal motive on a movie set is to get the film made, but on a Woody Allen set, there's an ulterior thing that goes on, which is, 'Did you have a conversation with Woody? How friendly have you been with him? Am I liked by him?'”