“Positive characterizations are complex characterizations. That's all w...” — Ava DuVernay Quote

“Positive characterizations are complex characterizations. That's all we need to know. They shouldn't be saccharine. They shouldn't feel like medicine.”

“If you're doing something outside of dominant culture, there's not an easy place for you. You will have to do it yourself.”

“All black women aren't sassy, loud, difficult, or subservient. We are, in fact, very complex and very diverse, living very complex and diverse lives. That point cannot be made enough.”

“The thing that got me started on the science that I've been building now for about 20 years or so was the question of okay, if mathematical equations can't make progress in understanding complex phenomena in the natural world, how might we make progress?”

“The darker, more complex and emotional the part is, the easier it is for me. But I don't take any of that stuff home with me at the end of the day.”

“I think the more complex your idea of who someone is or who a particular group is, the less able you are to separate 'we' and 'outside' or 'us and them.' I think that that's something that we really, really need to pay attention to.”