When I was growing up, my mother used to say, 'Don't ever bring no nappy-head Black girl to my house.' In the deep South in the '50s, '60s and '70s, the shade of your Blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message.

One of the great aspects of a Destiny's Child movie… is the empowerment of the songs and the empowerment that Destiny's Child has given to women.

Mariah Carey, Rihanna, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids - and what do they all have in common? They're all lighter skinned. Do you think that's an accident?

See, my philosophy is had Beyonce or Solange came to me and said Dad, I want to be a doctor. My personality is how do I buy a hospital? And that has nothing to do with stage. That has to do with the entrepreneurial inside of me.

The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players are the most wonderful creatures.

People come up to me and say somebody in their family has cancer, and we appreciate what you do, and we appreciate your fight, and don't give up, we love your attitude.

There's no traditional three act structure - or beginning, middle and end - to a family tree. By its nature, it has almost infinite different branches, or episodes, to explore in every direction.

I had so many people in my family with dementia that it felt like it belonged to me in a way. I feel like the same with teenage depression because I went through it. I feel like I'm allowed to write about it; it's mine.