00:01To be a woman is just to be one of your many identities. Womanhood isn't even
00:06defined by our birth sex, but it's defined by our commitment to community
00:10and it's defined by so many other variables other than the traditional
00:14take on it's defined by your body.
00:20My mama and I have a really special relationship. I have to say most of the
00:24times I'm pretty sure we're the same person. She's always been extremely
00:28transparent with me about what it is like to be not only a woman but a woman
00:33of color and a socially engaged woman of color who cares about your community.
00:39Since I was really little being half Iranian and half black this kind of paradox of currently half
00:45of my family is on a list of countries that cannot enter the U.S. and then the other half
00:51of my family
00:51has had to deal with systematic suppression and oppression at the hands of the U.S. and globally.
00:56With that comes a really deep understanding of the effects of oppression and combating discrimination.
01:04And Black-ish being such a show in which we take on really difficult topics it meant that as a
01:1014
01:10year old people were asking me questions about Black-ish and because of the topics of Black-ish
01:15it naturally extended to just other socio-political topics and knowing that this has always been a
01:20conversation at home this was really the first time I'd been asked in public spaces about how I felt.
01:27It was less that oh I can be a powerful voice but that I can exemplify the fact that young
01:32people do
01:33have opinions that are so well cultivated and important.
01:39What we're working towards and what I'm proud to be a part of is this movement in which we are
01:43so
01:43supportive of one another not just my show or that show or this person but all sorts of creatives that
01:48we're working towards being able to have so much on TV that you see yourself reflected because we're allowed
01:53to revel in that specificity.
01:55The purpose is really taking into consideration the importance of diversity and not just as a quota
02:01but as something to fervently believe in.
02:05My organization 18 by 18 is a non-partisan non-profit organization
02:11with the goal of helping undo politics in a way that is approachable for our generation.
02:18Many times unintentionally you take on your partisanship and then you take on how you care about the world
02:24rather than looking at how you care about the world and then that influencing your partisanship.
02:29I think it's really important to start now in undoing that process.
02:33We have such a socially engaged political voice and it's important that we understand there's so
02:37many ways to contribute that are specific to you.
02:41I've been so lucky to feel truly inspired by so many people of my generation and continue to be.
02:47A part of my work is to continually realize that and help other people realize that I am in no
02:53way the
02:53anomaly. I may be unabashedly Yara but I feel like in terms of a commitment to the world around me
02:59I think that's a shared characteristic my generation has.
03:04The purpose of this is not to be the only voice but to literally use it to help everyone else
03:09because
03:09it isn't enough to be the only one or to be content with being the only one.
