Issa Rae
I hate to say it but I hate black humor. I feel like a Klan member saying it, but it's just not funny.Collection: Humor
I'll stick to finding the funny in the ordinary because my life is pretty ordinary and so are the lives of my friends - and my friends are hilarious.Collection: Funny
Every black film feels like it's Tyler Perry, and that just needs to stop. But people seem to slowly be looking for what else is out there - 'Is there something else besides this type of humor?' 'I'm tired of seeing men in dresses.'Collection: Humor
I used to love being the class clown. I loved to make jokes and make people laugh. There was a set of students who would find it funny. But the cool students were like, 'Eeew!'Collection: Funny
I never really had to put much thought into my race, and neither did anybody else. I knew I was black. I knew there was a history that accompanied my skin color, and my parents taught me to be proud of it. End of story.Collection: History
It's a bit cliche, but you can't go wrong by writing what you know. Even if you're a horrible writer, your own knowledge and experience is unrivaled. Nobody knows what you know like you know what you know. The way you see things is pretty unique.Collection: Knowledge
Who I was was not acceptable to black L.A. youth: the way I spoke and my sense of humor. Everybody else had relaxers and pressed hair. I wore my hair in an Afro puff. Nappy. The way I dressed. It was all about name brands at the time in L.A. I had no idea. All those things, I failed miserably at.Collection: Humor
Black and awkward is the worst, because black people are stereotyped as being anything but awkward in mainstream media... Black people are always portrayed to be cool or overly dramatic, anything but awkward.Collection: Cool
Confidence comes from creating something and knowing what I'm supposed to be doing and feeling like I'm good at what I'm supposed to be doing.Collection: Feelings
I'm always tempted to say, 'Nah, that won't work.' But I think you should be willing to try ideas out before saying no. Be open-minded.Collection: Thinking
It always amused me that there were people working for the good of altruism but also wanting a lot of credit for it. It's just oddly competitive and the environment and the people who decide to work at non-profits are just really funny to me.Collection: People
Sometimes if I'm stuck on something, I'll have a drink, and it'll get me inspired and ready to keep going. But the trick to that, again, is that you have to drink responsibly! I've learned how to use it sometimes to help my creative process.Collection: Creative
Especially being a woman of color, sometimes it's hard for to put our foot down. You work with a lot of men, and they'll be like, "She has Joyner the best reputation".Collection: Men
It's annoying when people confuse you with the character.Collection: Character
I don't think paintings of nude women represent all women, but at the same time, I can't fault artists for putting out what inspires and challenges them. But for me, I'm not sure it's necessary for our bodies to define us, especially now when there are so many examples of femininity, of womanhood.Collection: Artist
Respectfully, 'Awkward Black Girl' was never meant to be politically correct. We poke fun at ignorance.Collection: Fun