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" My experience as a black woman in the industry is simply that often I was the only one in the room. Often I would be the only woman and the only person of color. Sometimes I would be one of several women but the only person of color. Sometimes I would be one of several people of color, but the only woman. "

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" I'm from an upper-middle class background. But because there was no one of my race where I grew up, I was very isolated. I felt different from everybody else. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Class

Race

" My dad was very, very invested in image. He felt that as a black person, the thing you could control was how did you look, how did you dress, how did you sound, how did you smell, how did you act. All of that stuff that you could control would absolutely have a strong impact on your access. "

" I don't write scenes where one person is right and one person is wrong. It's very much by design that everyone has a point of view that you as an audience member can understand. "

" I am tired of people using 'diverse' to mean 'of color.' That's not what that word means. 'Diversity' means people of all different races, all together - like a New York City subway. "

" It... does... not... have... to... be... pointed out all the time. Like, 'Isn't it great that you're black, and you're a woman?' Isn't it great that the show's good? I would just love for it not to be a thing - for it just to be, like, super norm. "

" 'Power' would never have gotten on the air if the folks at Starz weren't saying to themselves, 'This is an underserved audience.' It was a financial decision, not a benevolent decision based on a need to change the industry. "

" 50 Cent is a brilliant marketer. "

" I remember watching episodes of 'The Sopranos' and being filled with dread knowing what was coming or anticipating what was coming. I don't think that that's always a bad thing. I think sometimes the audience needs a little catharsis held away from them. "

" There's always going to be a part of me that wants an Emmy. Truthfully, I'm probably more motivated by people being entertained. I'm more motivated by people being like, 'Oh snap! Did you see that?' "

Courtney A. Kemp

People

" When human beings say they have power, it always makes me laugh a little bit. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Power

Always

" What I'm about to say won't be popular, but it's true: If being a television showrunner is the job you want, and you are a woman, I would not suggest you have children. The reality is that you just cannot do both well. "

" In college, I didn't know whether to hang out with the black kids or the white kids, and then I found the theatre kids, and I was like, 'Oh, it doesn't matter.' We were all weird and listening to Morrissey and wearing Doc Martens so that was my tribe. "

" My dad and his sister, who is no longer with us, used to dance on the streets for money. They had nothing. "

" Knowing what I don't know helps me every day. "

" There are so many different things that create an alchemy of success. Just like there are so many different things that create an alchemy of a failure. "

" Great partnerships thrive because the people need each other. "

" I really do love male characters, in some ways, for the fact that they get surprised when they're vulnerable. Women are more surprised by their strength. "

" When it comes to power as it functions between humans, it all comes down to desire. If you know what someone wants, you can control them. It is as simple as that. And the reverse is also true: If you have control over your own desires, no one will ever own you. As humans, we are plagued with desire - it consumes us, it fuels us, it destroys us. "

" I knew I wanted to write professionally and get paid. "

" Ultimately, at the end of the day, taking a chance on 'Power' is taking a chance on me. "

" I love 'Archer.' That's one of the best-written shows out there. "

" I love Pusha T and The Clipse. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Love

I Love

" The only black folks in town when I was growing up were me and my cousins and one other family. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Family

Black

" God is in control of everything. "

" I think women judge other women more harshly, always, which is a shame. "

Courtney A. Kemp

Judge

Shame

" I am a black woman, and I'm proud of that, but as a showrunner, I want to think about what makes me unique beyond my race. "

" I worked at 'Mademoiselle,' and then it shut, and I worked at 'GQ' for three years, during which I was freelancing. I wrote for 'Vibe.' I did music reviews. I wrote for 'Time Out.' I was desperate to get into 'Entertainment Weekly' or 'New York Magazine.' Like, desperate. "

" 50 and I are extremely close, so all that social media drama? It's just for the show. "

" The Shawshank Redemption' isn't a movie about a black guy and a white guy who become friends - it's a movie about freedom. At the end, the cathartic experience of seeing our own emotions reflected back to us, that's the purpose of storytelling. "

" I think as long as I can tell you a story about people that you understand, it doesn't matter if you don't like what they do; you understand why they did it. "