"It's a dumb question, because I don't look at things as a black director, just as a director, so ask me as a director first and we can segue into the colour thing later"

Antoine Fuqua’s response reveals a deeper frustration with how questions about his identity are often framed within the film industry and the media. As a creative professional, he challenges the insistence on categorizing his work first and foremost by his race rather than his craft. His words signal a desire to be recognized for his skills, vision, and accomplishments as a director before having his identity as a Black person become the primary lens through which his work is viewed or discussed.

Fuqua underscores the problematic nature of repeatedly bringing race to the forefront in conversations that should be about artistry, decision-making, and cinematic vision. For him, the label “Black director” creates a barrier, an unnecessary qualifier that positions him as an exception within his field, potentially limiting the perception of his versatility and universality as a filmmaker. It risks reducing his narrative potential to stories that are stereotypically expected of Black directors or trivializing his success as conditional or exceptional.

His request to “ask me as a director first” is a call for equity in discourse, mirroring a broader societal plea from minority professionals across disciplines who seek to be measured by their work rather than solely their identity. He is not dismissing the significance of his experiences as a Black director, but rather asserting that these experiences should complement, rather than overshadow, his primary identity as a director. The “segue into the colour thing later” suggests a willingness to discuss race in due course, rehearsing how identity can provide valuable perspectives but should not be the dominant or initial frame.

Fuqua’s perspective is a challenge to interviewers, critics, and audiences to rethink their assumptions and biases, to celebrate diverse voices not by pigeonholing them, but by appreciating the breadth of their contributions to art and culture.