Welcome to Never Before. I'm your host, Janet Mock.

We all know the Oscars has been a pretty problematic space the past few years with little recognition for movies featuring actors of color.

But this year's ceremony gave us something to celebrate as Moonlight snatched three trophies in all of our wigs, including

Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

My guest this week, Terrell Alvin McCraney, yes, he's a genius, stormed the Oscar

stage alongside director Barry Jenkins to deliver this monumental moment.

This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and non-gender conforming

who don't see themselves. We're trying to show you, you and us. So thank you. Thank you. This is for you.

For those who haven't seen Moonlight, I will try my best not to shoot you a side eye.

It follows a young black boy named Shiron in Liberty City, Miami.

He lives with a single mother, a woman struggling with drug dependency,

just as Shiron is coming to terms with his gender and sexual identity.

The film was adapted from an unpublished play, written by Terrell based on his own experiences

in that same black Miami neighborhood.

Though Liberty City didn't have many resources, it did expose a young Terrell to the arts,

which shifted the trajectory of his life.

The queer black boy from the hood went on to earn his MFA from the Yale School of Drama,

where he was mentored by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson.

He also received the Uber prestigious MacArthur Genius Fellowship in 2013

for, quote, imbueing the lives of ordinary black people with epic significance.

In our conversation, Terrell and I discuss his relationship with Wilson,

that infamous Oscars Night mix-up with La La Land, and what it's like to slay every damn award

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