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Quote by Mahershala Ali

“Anyone who grew up in the crack era - you know, I grew up in that era - knew that there were also people out - and there are still guys to this day that are out there, you know, obviously drug dealing - but those were the guys who had access and had money. And some of those guys felt responsible to create opportunity for other people and were also aware of the dangers of their work and often aren't really the ones that are encouraging kids to get into drug dealing.”

Quote by Mahershala Ali

Author

Mahershala Ali, born on February 16, 1974, is an accomplished actor from the United States. Known for his exceptional performances in both film and television, Ali gained widespread recognition and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in 'Moonlight' and 'Green Book'. more

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“[Crack epidemic] definitely has impacted folks in my family, most definitely. I think that's true for most, if not all people, regardless of color, that grew up in and around areas that were closer to the nucleus of the crack epidemic.If you look at Baltimore or D.C., Detroit, Chicago, Oakland, like, Los Angeles.”

People Ifs Thinking Looks Color Grew Grew Up Areas My Family Folks Los Angeles Cracks Chicago Detroit Epidemics Baltimore Nucleus Oakland

Author:Mahershala Ali

“I was born in Oakland and grew up, probably about five miles from Oakland, in Hayward. And Hayward was OK. Like, Hayward wasn't - very much a working-class area and had definitely went through a decline and is now, seemingly, coming back around, which is nice to see.”

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“I was fortunately able to avoid getting into any trouble with police. There was - I remember I was 12, and I did something really (laughter) - a couple of friends, Cinco de Mayo - we were off school, and we saw some people looking like they were having a party. And we had a little bit too much time on our hands, and so we figured, as kids, a great idea would be to throw some things over the fence and hit all these people with stuff, like eggs and everything.”

People Littles Ideas Hands Would Be Kids Able School Remember Stuff Bits Party Saws Too Much Trouble Couple Little Bit Laughter Police Eggs Fence Great Idea Cinco De Mayo

Author:Mahershala Ali

“I think what I've learned from working on "Moonlight" is we see what happens when you persecute people. They fold into themselves.”

People Thinking Happens I've Learned Moonlight Folds

Author:Mahershala Ali

“When we kind of get caught up in the minutiae, the details that make us all different, I think there's two ways of seeing that. There's an opportunity to see the texture of that person, the characteristics that make them unique. And then there's an opportunity to go to war about it and to say that that person is different from me and I don't like you, so let's battle.”

Thinking Way Kind Persons Two Different War Opportunity Seeing Like You Battle Unique Caught Details Characteristics Caught Up Texture Two Ways Minutiae I Don't Like You

Author:Mahershala Ali

“My mother is an ordained minister. I'm a Muslim. She didn't do backflips when I called her to tell her I converted 17 years ago. But I tell you now, we put things to the side, and I was able to - I'm able to see her. She's able to see me. We love each other.”

Years Able Mother Sides Years Ago Ministers Love Each Other Backflips

Author:Mahershala Ali

“I've personally been on the outside sometimes. But I was - I personally was never persecuted especially in the way in which sharing my own experiences.”

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Author:Mahershala Ali

“I know there were periods of times where I didn't feel understood, and there were very few people around me that I felt like they really got me. There was one person who was sort of the one in my life that really got me.In general, I felt a little bit on the outside and not totally included. There was a period of time when we were moving around a lot. So I couldn't really hold on to a certain set of friends. And so that was a little bit difficult.”

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Author:Mahershala Ali

“My experiences growing up - my father lived in New York, so I was going out there in the summers and meeting really interesting people and people having what seemed to me to be extraordinary experiences and really taking advantage of these wonderful opportunities. And so I will go - I would go to the big city and watch these people performing onstage and doing television and films. And then I would go back to Hayward, and it just suddenly felt that much smaller and sort of limiting because I had this hyper awareness of how much larger the world was.”

“I think in some ways, I would go back home, and I didn't really quite fit in and couldn't - didn't have a person to bounce those experiences off of. So I felt a little bit trapped within me, and it made me feel lonely because I really couldn't - the things that were exciting to me, I couldn't really share those with another kid and that other kid understand that.”

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Author:Mahershala Ali