Quotes from Nafessa Williams

My dream is to be on 'Saturday Night Live.' I'm going to do everything to make that happen.

I want lesbians to be inspired and to feel comfortable with who they are and walk boldly in that.

Growing up, I'd watch 'The Cosby Show' and 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air;' I'd look at the little brown girls and be inspired by them.

I know what it's like to be in college and not have the budget to fully look the way I want to.

To come and turn the TV on and see Black Lightning trying to make a change and being a leader and stepping up, I hope that it inspires people within their own communities to try to make a change and to walk in their own superhero.

Beyonce's 'Freedom' - I listen to that when I am suiting up and getting into superhero mode.

In most superhero shows, the superhero is pretty young. He's in his 20s; he's single. 'Black Lightning' is a man who's middle-aged, going through a divorce, and has two daughters.

I hope that people understand that with education, we can be our own superhero.

I did not know much about 'Black Lightning' beforehand, but I always wanted to play a superhero. After getting the part, I went back and read the comic books.

Most superhero shows are set in an alternative universe. 'Black Lightning' is literally in the hood. He's going inside of the ghetto and trying to make a difference.

I believe what makes Black Lightning different from other superhero shows and other superheroes is that he's really, really family-oriented. You get to see his entire family as well as his daughters being superheroes and diving into that universe.

Most superheroes are young or in their 20s, and as you can see with Black Lightning, he's in his mid-40s and he has a family, so that affects you a bit differently as opposed to being a young, single superhero.

I want everyone to be aware of what their superpower is because I believe that we all have superpowers.

I love really sweet, soft scents.

I switch up between going to the gym or exercising outside to run around a track and the stairs of a stadium.

Ultimately, my goal is to inspire little brown girls that look like me, that are sitting on the porch wearing cornrows.

We all have that superhero inside us, but it's about tapping into it and embracing it and owning it.

If I wasn't from Philly, I couldn't promise you that I would have the same drive and the same ambition because, as a little kid, I always saw myself as making it out, and I would escape with television.

I think I have proven that I can play any type of character.

It's nice to be a part of a show I was passionate about and that's pushing the culture forward. I feel 'Black Lightning' is doing that for sure.

I followed my dreams and went to Hollywood. My mom was like, 'Wait a minute - I thought you were going to be a lawyer.' I said, 'You know what, Mom? You're going to have to see me play one on TV.'

Will Smith has always been an inspiration for me.

I just want people to understand that regardless of what it is that you do - whether you're a teacher, whether you are a doctor, a single mother, a college student, a big sister - that you have strength within you, and I want people to be inspired to walk in their own superhero regardless of what it is that they do.

I believe gratitude leads to happiness.