Danai Jekesai Gurira

Danai: (on Zimbabwe) Zimbabweans are so smart and witty and able to weave together tons of situations and experiences into terminologies that are just utterly original. We had a higher literacy rate than the U.S. until 1995. So we're kind of a nerdy country, actually.

Danai: (on President Obama) It floored me how he has such an understanding of the African post-colonial experience. I was like, Oh my gosh, this is my president! I always used to say hybrids would rule the world, people who have an understanding of many cultures and can relate to them with ease. And then along came Obama.

Danai: (on her African and American sides) I think that really has defined my artistic voice. I suspect I am very specifically bicultural. The fact that I can not separate who I am as an African and who I am as an American, has melded me into who I am as a human being and consequently as an artist. I think I have been very effected not only by the absence of African female voices in the dramatic canon of work but also by the fact that I feel like the West doesn't really get much experience of African voices.