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I don't think being black has held me back at all. Being black makes you strong.

When I got into Stanford in high school, I had some friends from school who told me that I just got in because I was black and whatnot.

It's hard being black. You ever been black? I was black once - when I was poor.

I am black, and there's no getting around that, but being black doesn't define every aspect of my life.

People only look at you and say, 'You are black and you are from the banlieue,' and all the doors are closed. I had the desire to be something else. If I see a door that is a little open, I will find a way to get through.

There was a while when I was feeling like, 'Damn, if I'd just been born black, I would not have to go through all this'.

I was black growing up in an all-white neighborhood, so I felt like I just didn't fit in. Like I wasn't as good as everybody else, or as smart, or whatever.

No one ever talks about the moment you found that you were white. Or the moment you found out you were black. That's a profound revelation. The minute you find that out, something happens. You have to renegotiate everything.

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.