"We survived whitewashing, blackface, tons of dealer roles, housekeepers with a Bwana accent, we survived the roles of terrorists, all the roles of hypersexualized girls"

"We are a family. We say everything, right? All of you who are not impacted by issues related to invisibility, stereotypes or the issue of skin color…the good news is that it will not happen without you. Think inclusion"

"My name would come up from time to time, but with few alternatives in the middle of an empty space"

"This emptiness has always upset me, but it also inspired me to do this project"

"I always knew it would be a collective effort where my actress friends would share their experiences"

"They were all determined and excited to make their voices heard"

"It was time to represent blacks in French film—in under a month, we went from coauthors to a true collective"

"The book is a commercial hit in French bookstores, proving that, contrary to what some believe, the public not only wants to read what we have to say, but they share our values of inclusion and diversity"

"I would be delighted if after this book, and with the other actions we plan to take, that all communities be represented"

"The best thing would be for all talents, regardless of skin color, to have access to the same opportunities"

"Self-love is not something that you get in one day or two days. It’s an ongoing process and I go through it every day."

"create their own rules of diversity"

"For me, it’s more than just a product, it’s the idea behind the product"

"There are so many types of beauty that all deserve to be celebrated"

"There are still people who make comments occasionally, but they’re in the minority"

"Most of the response has been and is hugely positive. For those who feel the need to be bullies, I ignore them. Negative energy is wasteful"

"I would tell her to be more patient, and spend less energy on bullies, although it is very hard keep in mind that they just want to glow like you"

"Look at your skin. Look at your teeth and your smile. You are beautiful."

"I Want to Show Girls It’s Not Bad to Be Dark—Different Is Beautiful"

"Where I grew up, we had light skinned models, but not dark. Every time I would talk about being a model with my friends, they would start laughing out loud"

"I was so ashamed of it that I would spend hours in the shower crying and trying to wash my skin off"

"I really want to be an inspiration for young girls,” she said. “I don’t want anybody to feel the way I felt when I was younger"

"I started to watch the ocean. I was not looking at it like I used to; it became like a grave."

"When I started writing the script, I realized that I hadn’t really seen any film with a black couple that was worthy of Romeo and Juliet…And through Ada and Souleiman I wanted to relate a similar kind of tragic love, in the age of rampant capitalism."

"My family history is made of migration; it’s something that’s part of my own complexity."

"As a mixed [-race] girl, there’s always a visible and invisible side of you; there’s a place you inhabit and place you desert,” she says. “How does the place that you don’t live in influence you?"