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

"Being able to have that light and have this platform has made me very choosy and very picky about roles, what I do, what I say, what I put out on social media."

"Education for All is one of the causes dearest to my heart"

"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"

"We want to qualify for the semi-finals without any doubt and that will mean winning. Besides, we want to keep our unbeated record so far."

"This year's tournament is not going to be easy, everything that will be participarting will be coming for the ultimate."

"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."

"The emotional skill that should be taught to every child is self-love. It’s the foundation for confidence, resilience, and healthy relationships"

"When children learn to love and accept themselves, they’re equipped to navigate life’s challenges and shine their unique light"

"The Black Queens were the first team to represent the country at the world cup level but the kind of treatment and promotion we get from Ghanaians especially the media is on the low side."

"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"

"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"

"Go in those rooms where you think you don’t belong, shine, and make sure you assume your identity. Because it’s time"

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

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

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

"My heart is committed to causes that build legacies, not headlines"

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

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

"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 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"

"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"

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

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

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

"Our presence matters, and our voices must be heard"

"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"

"Diversity means love of all people. The love of every difference, every skin tone, every personality & culture"

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

"I love my brown skin and my Asian eyes. It’s what makes me unique"

"I don’t look at my ethnicity as a setback but more of an asset."

"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"

"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!"

"I always knew even at a young age, that I had to take charge"

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

"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"

"Education gives us the opportunity to expand our abilities and specialize in a field that suits us the best"

"I think I carry this responsibility of being one of the voices of this generation, but also being a biracial girl and just kind of carrying the torch for everyone and paving the way"

"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 think stand-up is all controversial anyway and that's kind of the point of stand-up comedians is to be offensive and be weird and have opinions"

"The biggest legacy I want to leave behind is how much I loved and was loved by my tribe"

"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"

"Modeling is much more than a fashion show. It is the confidence you exude, the courage you show as you move forward to overcome the challenge facing you and the multitude of eyes staring at you like a lightning on a T!"

"Soccer is a huge sport and all the boys and girls play that. But in our culture it seems like it is only for men. My family and friends, everybody would be like You have to be in the kitchen."

"From the first day I was a little bit shy. I'm a shy person, but then straight away, I've never been in an environment before where everyone is genuine. Everybody's really grateful and shows positivity and they made me feel like I've been a part of it for a long time."

"I never felt that’s what I was born to do. I could do more than that, so that is something that I always wanted to change."

"Growing up as a young girl, it seemed impossible to do things that men do."