Quotes About Representation

I think what Californians want is a governor who's going to focus on California.

A president's power is limited. We need to vote down the ballot as well, from your councilman all the way up to your governors and congressman.

I'm a chairman on the Board of Governors for the East-West Players, the longest-running Asian-American theater company in America.

Governors are closer to the people than those in D.C., and we don't see any results from D.C.

People are getting tired of the same material; they want to see black girls as leads in movies. And I happen to be lucky enough to understand that - and be able to grab that opportunity and run with it.

We didn't, with 'Will & Grace,' set out to change the gay world. We just set out to be funny.

I think Emily Blunt is definitely our finest young female English export. She has an uncanny grace.

I think about 'Will & Grace,' and I think about 'Modern Family,' and the way that being gay has become sort of middle America... in the way that they show gay people in their specific way.

We had a gay marriage on 'Will & Grace' in 2000, 2001. And I was like, 'Gay marriage?' I mean, it was just really early.

In fifth grade, we did 10 minutes on slavery and 40 minutes on Abraham Lincoln, and in 10th grade you might do 10 minutes on the civil rights era and 40 minutes on Martin Luther King, and that's it.

Country is not what you heard on the Grammys.

I'm kind of iffy on the Latin Grammys because I think we fought so hard, for example, to get the American side of the Grammys to open categories for us... But I support the Latin Grammys in the sense I'm glad that we have them.

Not to get too grandiose about it, but I really believe I'm saying things a lot of Americans want someone to say.

My grandmother probably never thought she would see a day where, you know, a young black woman would be seen as a leader, which is incredible.

All too often the Democratic Party has taken the black vote for granted, and all too often the Republican Party has written it off.

The Democratic Party has taken the black community for granted and said, 'This is the most loyal constituency we have. They're not going anywhere.' But the Republican Party has said, 'That's the most loyal constituency Democrats have. They're not going anywhere. We've got to win without them.'

I think by drawing, so I'll draw or diagram everything from a piece of furniture to a stage gesture. I understand things best when they're in graphics, not words.

I think most people think of ballerinas as kind of either as a fairytale, far-away thing that's really not attainable, something they can't grasp, or they think of them as European or Russian and kind of their nose up in the air. So, it's cool for me to, like, sit with them and for them to really see themselves as me.

There aren't as many roles for people who look like me, and it was always complicated when it came to casting my parents. But now I couldn't be more grateful that I have a different look.

I'm one of these guys who believes you represent the people who sent you to Washington, D.C., not matter what the cost. The cost could be very grave.

I tend to gravitate toward gender- and race-related stories.

I like being part of the Great Britain setup. I like feeling I'm at a race that is important and the pressure that goes with it.

I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain.

I don't know what it is to feel very British, but I feel that it's home, so I'm very happy to represent Great Britain.