On how the all-black writers room came about
At Netflix, and their encouragement. I actually didn't set out — that wasn't what I was thinking, and I'll be honest with you: because it's never really been something I've been allowed to do, at least not with the major networks. And then when one of the execs said, "Meg, you're going to hire an all-black room, right?" I was like, "I am. Yeah, I am!"
And it was really, really cool to do because I wanted to genuinely share the African American experience. And there's no one experience, of course, in this country. And so to assemble a group of people that, in some ways, what we all only had in common was being black, and then we came from different walks of life, different parts of the country — it was a great way to talk and percolate and weave together the experience of one black family. ... I mean it was important to me that we have younger writers, writers that were from affluent and less affluent backgrounds, because all of that is reflected in the show.
On what is different about an all-black writing staff
Well, first of all, there's a shorthand that happens when culturally ... we've been raised a similar way. And what I think is interesting is that a lot of African American people in this country: We're only a generation or two away from the South. So that means that even if you do come up in Seattle, you're probably being raised by someone whose grandmother was somewhere in the South. And so that means that culturally, food and conversation and other touchstones, there are some common threads.
So that being said, nobody had to stop and explain certain things. It was sort of already understood. Whereas if I were in other rooms that weren't all-black, I might stop and say, "OK, just so you know, a lot of black people, when they go to church, they'll wear dress hats," or ... whatever the topic might be. I might feel the need to stop and explain to someone what we're talking about.
On the family's immersion in the Southern black cultural experience
I think it's so important that kids be raised with an understanding of who they are culturally, and if for no other reason, for self-esteem, right. It's not to be like, "Oh, I'm like this, so I'm different from you, or better than you, or less than you." It's: "I'm like this, and this means something." And that there's a cultural relevance in that people have something to fall back on.
I was raised in a very integrated environment. And what that meant was that I felt good about being a young African American girl and having friends who weren't African American. And if you're not in touch with your culture, sometimes there are small things that might make you feel less-than, whether it's the way your hair curls or the fact that you're just different from your friends. So I wanted to get into that and say: It's cool to integrate, even to assimilate — but it's only cool if you know who you are and where you come from.
On the issues of identity around the light-skinned teenage character Jade
Well, first of all, there's a shorthand that happens when culturally ... we've been raised a similar way. And what I think is interesting is that a lot of African American people in this country: We're only a generation or two away from the South. So that means that even if you do come up in Seattle, you're probably being raised by someone whose grandmother was somewhere in the South. And so that means that culturally, food and conversation and other touchstones, there are some common threads.
So that being said, nobody had to stop and explain certain things. It was sort of already understood. Whereas if I were in other rooms that weren't all-black, I might stop and say, "OK, just so you know, a lot of black people, when they go to church, they'll wear dress hats," or ... whatever the topic might be. I might feel the need to stop and explain to someone what we're talking about.
On the family's immersion in the Southern black cultural experience
I think it's so important that kids be raised with an understanding of who they are culturally, and if for no other reason, for self-esteem, right. It's not to be like, "Oh, I'm like this, so I'm different from you, or better than you, or less than you." It's: "I'm like this, and this means something." And that there's a cultural relevance in that people have something to fall back on.
I was raised in a very integrated environment. And what that meant was that I felt good about being a young African American girl and having friends who weren't African American. And if you're not in touch with your culture, sometimes there are small things that might make you feel less-than, whether it's the way your hair curls or the fact that you're just different from your friends. So I wanted to get into that and say: It's cool to integrate, even to assimilate — but it's only cool if you know who you are and where you come from.
On the issues of identity around the light-skinned teenage character Jade
