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Because of where I come from, I never thought I'd see in my life a black candidate running for President.

I've been in situations where I was the only black guy. We're in a time now where nobody wants to see that. But it still happens.

The black characters on TV are the sidekicks, or they're insignificant. You could put all the black sidekicks on one show, and it would be the most boring, one-dimensional show ever. Even look at the black women on 'Community' and 'Parks and Recreation' - they are the archetype of the large black women on television. Snide and sassy.

When I was young, I was rather attractive, and I thought that I would be a leading lady. I always thought of myself as a dramatic actress, but of course the opportunities for blacks weren't there at the time.

'Roots' did show that the audience would be receptive to black talent and a black story.

If you think about 'Person of Interest' with Taraji P. Henson or 'Scandal' with Kerry Washington - any of those black women could have been any race; they just happen to be black. And those are the characters that I'm more attracted to. It's not so much about separation of race, but really, more uniting us.

There's a time when it was an event for a black person to be on television. Where black households would gather around, 'Oh, you know, Sammy Davis is going to be on 'All in the Family' tonight! Let's go check it out!' It was a big, big thing.

The climate in the '50s and '60s for black performers or black people in the entertainment business was atrocious. It was atrocious.