I've known I was gay since I was young, I think. And I mean young - like, young - like 5 or 6. I think most gay people or queer people know there's something different about them very early, but I didn't know what to call it.
I remember going to 'The Wood' and leaving my friend and my mom, who I came with, to go sit in the front row because I was so excited.
When people think of the South Side of Chicago, they don't think about where I'm from. It was sort of a pocket: this idyllic community of black people who took care of each other, knew each other, spent time with each other.
I think the stakes are always high when you're an artist of color - to get things right, to get things perfect and make everybody happy.
All the writers for 'The Chi,' they're all phenomenal, so I'm just working on projects with them. They have great scripts.
I think that for the most part, black people specifically have sort of been used as props in TV shows as a way to move story along or as a way to make things more entertaining.
Wearing one hoop earring and playing with the androgyny - that's who I am. That's what I like to do. And I feel the world should see that. I'm not going to put a shield up or be more feminine to make people feel comfortable.
Being born gay, black, and female is not a revolutionary act. Being proud to be a gay black female is.
As a black woman in the industry, you really do have to hold your head higher, stick your chest out, be kind and polite and generous even when you don't want to be sometimes. I learned that and, also, just to never take no for an answer.
Being a black lesbian myself, I roll my eyes a little bit when I see black lesbian characters on shows where it's purely there for decoration. You can just hear it in the writers room... 'What if we make her a lesbian?'
People can say what they want about a person, but if you're successful and you make them money, then people don't care.