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We’ve gone through the names—Negro, African American, African, Black. For me that’s an indication of a people still trying to find their identity. Who determines what is black?

Spike Lee

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Spike Lee
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: March 20
Actor
Film Actor
Film Director
Film Editor
Film Producer
Mascot
Screenwriter
Television Actor
Television Producer
Atlanta
Georgia
Sheldon Lee
Shelton J. Lee
Shelton Jackson Lee
Mars Blackmon
People
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American
Indication
Black
Negro
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African
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Identity

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If you can't take a hit, you're not going to last long, that's for sure.
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I think my work shows that I love women. I understand where these types of criticisms are coming from because black people have been so dogged out in the media, they're just extra sensitive.
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Everything I do is always scrutinised. But that's all I'll say about that.
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I collect names for characters. Names are valuable they can be your first source of insight into a character.
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First of all, what in this world does not revolve around money? But money is a big part of film, unlike a lot of other art forms.
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Racism in America absolutely exists - it is an issue. We need to fix it. We're a great country - probably the greatest country but we could be a hell of a lot greater.
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A woman who is very secure in herself, what she's about, what she wants to do, who probably figures that she's a prize catch-sooner or later he's going to come around.
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American slavery was not a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It was a holocaust. My ancestors are slaves. Stolen from Africa. I will honor them.
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This film [Chi-Raq]is a declaration. It's a scream. It's a warning. And I can really break it down to one scene. That's the scene where we have the eulogy and sermon that is given by the great John Cusack.
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I don't dictate, you don't dictate to Stevie Wonder, not successfully.
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It comes down to this: black people were stripped of our identities when we were brought here, and it's been a quest since then to define who we are.
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My grandmother lived to be 100 years old. Her grandmother was a slave, yet she was a college graduate in the Spellman class of 1917. She taught art for 50 years and she saved her Social Security checks for her children's education.
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Any time you talk about the look of the film, it's not just the director and the director of photography. You have to include the costume designer and the production designer.
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For me, I believe in God, God is real.
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Our greatness, our talent has never been the question. It's been a matter of grappling for control over what we do.
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I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.
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I am a hybrid. I do independent films and also do Hollywood films - I love them both.
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Since the days of slavery, if you were a good singer or dancer, it was your job to perform for the master after dinner.
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