Even in 2012, if there's a black character in the movies or on television that's a professional, if we even hear about their backgrounds they're always 'up from the streets.'

More than 20 years on, sustained competition, informed customers and the rapid growth of new technology provide the necessary environment for substantial deregulation.

In real life there are indeed black people who have been in the middle class for generations, but in entertainment it's as if they don't exist.

If you're fascinated by America, you'll be fascinated by family.

I've always felt lonely, even if I'm in a great relationship or surrounded by my friends and family.

My father, once he has decided on something, doesn't care about what anyone else thinks. All the men in our family swore at him for training us. His parents said he was mad. But he didn't listen.

I was an early reader, and my grandmother, who as a child had been forbidden to read by a father who believed books to be frivolous time-wasters, delighted in putting her favorite volumes into her grandchildren's hands.

I have one brother, John, an airline pilot, who is seven years younger. He's adopted, though we're still blood related - he's my cousin. My parents couldn't have any more children after me, so when Dad's brother died, they adopted John, then just a baby.