"I feel like the only way to fight that is to just be yourself on the most genuine level and to connect with other black girls who are awakening and realizing that they’ve been trying to conform"

"I thought a lot about the concept of cultural dysphoria, and how that can shape how people relate to the world,"

"feel really disheartened by the fact that there’s no infrastructure legislation to control and mitigate the amount of manipulation that is occurring toward the public by these private organizations and corporations who just want to make money off us and control our thoughts."

"I have always had and continue to have a lot of disillusionment around social media, particularly now"

"I don’t think there’s ever been a moment where I’ve thought social media is not for me, because I’m obsessed with social media. I have three meme accounts!"

"But I’m not tired of talking about hair in the sense of it being an empowering thing. I know when I used to chemically straighten mine, I did it because I wasn’t comfortable with my natural hair. I thought it was too poofy, too kinky. So for me, personally, when I started wearing it natural, it felt like I was blossoming because I was letting go of all the dead hair and all the parts of me that had rejected my natural state."

"I feel like when I was younger—even though I may not have been conscious [of it]—I fought my hair and I fought who I was…to try to conform, or shy away from my Blackness"

"I think that as a black girl you grow up internalizing all these messages that say you shouldn’t accept your hair or your skin tone or your natural features, or that you shouldn’t have a voice, or that you aren’t smart"

"It wasn’t until I started living in other places that I realized that growing up with the backdrop of a mountainscape is not everyone’s experience"

"when people come to me and say, “I’m more comfortable in my identity because of you,” or “I feel like you’ve given me a voice,” that’s the most powerful thing ever."

"I recognize that people who respond negatively to what I have to say aren’t at a place yet where they are able to learn"

"I think already, at age 12, I was like, Yeah, people are racist. Why are y’all surprised?"

"Social media really shaped me and my generation and our ability to organize or express our thoughts"

"When I reflect on it, I don’t remember being very upset about it. I remember feeling that I don’t give a flying f**k what these racist people think of me. I think bigots don’t really bother me"

"Whenever Black women have a point, they’re characterized as Angry Black Women, and therefore the thing they’re talking about is no longer of importance because they have to deal with them being overly emotional or something."

"our collective relationship to the truth has become far more chaotic.”"

"I think as a queer person, kind of everything I do in the public sphere is drag in some capacity"

"I’m not sure if social-media activism serves the cause in the long term"

"Though the intentions are generally excellent with respect to giving a voice to those who were too long silenced, the movements that came before us, in the past, perhaps had more weight"

"We have a unique voice because we grow up with the ability to empathize. We constantly have to do the work of placing ourselves in other people’s shoes"

"I often find myself in situations where I am the token black person"

"Now you can go on Instagram and you can see a girl who looks like you who is killing the game and expressing herself. Just being able to see that is so affirming"

"Being an actor is one of the few professions where, as an adult, you get to play!"

"The line between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange is always going to be blurry"

"I don’t particularly like putting forward an image of myself that’s too true to reality"

"A lot of my adolescence was defined by being here. I feel like the first time I really experienced freedom and autonomy was here, so I think I probably fell in love with New York and knew it was the place I wanted to live when I was 15 or 16. Then I had a series of unsuccessful attempts to move here that were thwarted by different things"

"you might say that culture has become more inclusive, that inequalities and prejudice seem to be slowly retreating, and that things which were once considered normal and acceptable are now deemed to be inappropriate"

"I noticed that whenever I was trying to talk about social justice and how Black women are framed in the media, quite ironically, I would be framed in a certain way that would demonize me and take away the value of my point"

"It’s loud. But it’s very cool and exciting to be in the middle of this huge thing – there’s haters, there’s lovers, it’s all going on"

"I had to wrestle with myself – I fell in love with that show. I’ll miss it, but I was ready to move on"

"You know when you get cast, at some point you are going to have to hand back that sonic screwdriver and it is all going to come to an end, but nothing quite prepares you for it"

"I would love to have the energy and the youth to be able to do this full time for the rest of my life, but my knees are telling me it’s time"

"The fans are truly the final character and beating heart of this show"

"It's got so that every time I walk into a restaurant, I get not only soup but an impersonation of Captain Bligh."

"Method actors give you a photograph. Real actors give you an oil painting."

"All his tough talk is a blind, you know. He's a literate, gracious, kind man, with wonderful manners, and he speaks beautifully — when he wants to."

"They can't censor the gleam in my eye."

"Hollywood is a goofy place. But I like it. It's the perfect mummers' home. If one weren't a little mad one wouldn't be there."

"[I have a face that would] stop a sundial and frighten small children into fits."

"I knew in a flash Gary had something I should never have. It is something pure and he doesn't know it's there. In truth, that boy hasn't the least idea how well he acts."

"I have a face like the behind of an elephant."

"Drag is like a spa for my soul."

"We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that’s when I’ll come."

"I mean, equity is what it’s about in business. For them to be able to have equity at this young of age, I think that that’s power.”"

"I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote – vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city."

"I grew up with two older brothers who excelled at every single thing. And so, their shadows were very large and daunting at times."

"It’s awesome to say no to things, even though they’re offering a lot of money. I have the power to say no."

"You're gonna live longer than the ball is bouncing, God willing, and so there's a whole lot of life after basketball. So you kinda have to learn how to be a good human and, I can't think of a better person than coach Summitt that modeled that."

"I was so desperate to feel understood"