Salim Akil

There are so many slices to the African-American experience. I mean, I have the whole ghetto pedigree. My mom was in jail, I didn't have any money, and I didn't go to a fancy college. But that's not the type of story I want to tell or feel the need to tell on film.

When you see a superhero that looks like you and lives in and fights in a neighborhood that is sort of like yours, it's empowering to a degree that makes you have hope. That is the power of storytelling, and that is the power of images.

A lot of African Americans, especially men, deal with this as a part of life. I've been pulled over by the police in my life, and I think I've only gotten a ticket once. It's just a part of everyday life, and it doesn't matter if you're in the car with your children or by yourself.

I know and understand the result of extreme violence in my own life, in my friends' lives, and so I know what violence really is.

You can't protect your children from life.

It's a wonderful thing to see 'Wonder Woman' directed by a woman. That did have an affect on the character, the , and the nuances of that film. That's the same thing my wife, Mara Brock Akil, and I are doing taking on 'Black Lightning.'

If I'm walking down the street or taking my kids trick-or-treating, and I see some young girls or boys who are dressed up like Black Lightning, that, to me, would be success.

You change the landscape in Hollywood with action, not words.

When you're young, taking a risk doesn't necessarily feel like a risk because you're young.

African American culture is American culture.

Nina Simone, to me, singing about black culture - she's unparalleled.

In popular culture, there is this notion that African-American men and women can't get together, and we're having these issues. I think it's an American problem because I know a lot of white women and men who are having just as many issues trying to find 'that person' as anyone.