"Think of it as a last minute effort to correct generations of social policies and constructs that robbed women and girls the opportunity to get education, to vote, work, to earn equitably, to own properties and the likes."

"A huge part of any storytelling process is the newsgathering. A slight misstep in newsgathering can distort the facts in a subtle but substantial way. That’s why the best way to capture the essence of a story is to allow the people at the heart of it drive it."

"As a woman you never want to sit down and not do anything."

"When you are waiting on God for a child, you’re so sensitive that the little things that people do gets to you."

"I should help other people while I wait"

"I’m trusting you on this journey, and I’m going to obey you completely and totally"

"After all, speaking truth to power is one of the hallmarks of good journalism."

"Last year (2020) I gave my absolute all to the team. I had film sessions every day, I hired a strength and conditioning coach, and we had weights three times a week. We had practice two hours on days we didn’t have games. Before and after practice, I would stay with girls and work on their skills. We had skill sessions where groups would come on certain days. We had pre-game meals. There were so many things that I was able to do last year that I want to be able to do this season, but I can’t devote that amount of time to the team. I know that if I came back, the girls would know the difference between what I gave them last year and what I’m giving this year. I gave them 100 percent last year. This year, I wouldn’t be able to do that. They deserve a coach who’s going to give them 100 percent. If I came back knowing I was only giving 75 percent, 80 percent, I would be a hypocrite. Everything that I taught them last year was: ‘What’s the point of doing it if you’re not going to give your all?’ If I come back not giving my all, that makes me a hypocrite. It’s not who I am. I want to give them 100 percent, they deserve 100 percent, and they know what my 100 percent looks like."

"Just as I needed the mentorship of the women in my life to become the woman I am today, our girls also need us. It is our responsibility to encourage the next generation of women to be strong, smart and bold. We cannot wait for someone else to do it. As my coach used to say, if you don’t know whose job it is, it’s yours."

"Everywhere I turned when I grew up in a New York City housing project there was despair and there was struggle and there was just so much strife, but when I got to go to basketball, I just felt like I could breathe. I felt like I was safe...I became passionate about it. I want other young girls to find their passion, regardless of their circumstances at home."

"I think any time innocent blood is being shed, whether it is on the Palestinian side or on the Israeli side, it’s heartbreaking. I don’t pick a side. I don’t think that that is appropriate. I just want the killing of innocent lives to stop."

"I grew up living in the New York City housing projects with my seven siblings and my mom. I grew up in poverty so sports was something that helped me to go to college and travel the world and become a pro - things that would have never happened for someone like me."

"My vision for the space behind me is really an indoor court. A place where we can have two courts going and train athletes and players can have a chance to become great right in their own backyard. I envision a place where I can train those athletes and I can be a part of their journey because I understand what it is to be a young girl and doesn’t have much, but has a heart to be successful and I want to help."

"I knew it was right - it was the right timing for me to get back out there. This is our calling - this is what we want to do. We just need the community to support us."

"You better believe if we get the community to back us up on this, the girls are going to be out here working too. Whatever we can do - whatever is legal, we don’t want anyone to get hurt - the girls are going to be out here working to make sure they’re a part of this so they appreciate what they have."

"These girls are going to go as far as we push them. So if we keep pushing them, if we have the resources to keep pushing them, then I think that we'll be shocked and amazed at where these girls can go in the next 10-15 years. And hopefully they come back and give back to the next generation of girls after them. But we just need the community to stand behind us, push us, give us resources, whatever we need to help us give these girls what they need to be successful. That's the most important thing."

"Social media have been saturated by the harrowing memories of a legacy the British establishment has refused to acknowledge. The plunder of land and diamonds in South Africa, crimes that adorned the Queen's very crown. The physical suffering that continues from violence inflicted by her government in Kenya, even as her reign was celebrated for having begun there. The scars of genocide in Nigeria, events that took place a decade into her rule. In Britain, minoritised people are remembering this Elizabethan era through the lens of the racism that was allowed to thrive during it."

"Hirsch’s focus is not the more violent racism she has suffered; the story of the man who took off his belt threatening to thrash her following a racist spat is only given a sentence. Rather it’s the many micro-aggressions that draw her attention. At Oxford University she was a self-consciously alien presence, irritated by porters who insisted she show her ID as she entered its colleges, while her white student friends were not stopped."

""It would be indescribable for any athlete to walk in with the German flag, and it's also a dream of mine"

"“I’ve done everything, I feel good, we’re right on schedule. But it’s too early to make a prediction"

"My identity is not based on performance; it's based on something that's pre-determined by someone else, and I don't even understand what that is because I'm an African who came to America."

"When I was in school, I conceptually didn't want black people to have context, to take it out of all that history. I wanted nothing to indicate where they are or what time it is, to place them anywhere."

"The social media bit is really about documenting process. I like the dialogue if it's constructive, but I'm now at a crossroads. I've accumulated a lot of followers, and it's great, but I'm also at that teetering point where people are feeling themselves a little too much, commenting a little too much."

"I don't think about race before I start drawing. I think about how to make that mark to fit whatever purpose I need it to fulfill."

"I'm really interested in independent publishers and memes and mini comics. But even before that, I was interested in Japanese manga and anime."

"I moved around a lot when I was a child; two of the houses I grew up in have totally disappeared. One was burnt in a riot, and the other was pulled down."

"I kept wanting to push my image as validity; I wanted to see my portrait on a wall and know it was okay."

"I don't think about race before I start drawing. I think about how to make that mark to fit whatever purpose I need it to fulfill. Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness, and your black presence."

"Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness, and your black presence."

"In my eyes she (Oluchi) is fashion’s biggest model of rags to riches. Not just because she made it from the corridors of obscurity to the world stage, but because when she got there, she gave a hand and a platform to the voiceless but ambitious talents. Here I am, thanks to her."

"The graphic style itself is influenced by a lot of very layered and detailed comics that I read as a kid, like 'Vagabond' by Takehiko Inoue."

"Naomi Campbell is in a breed of her own. I think she is unbearable from a professional point of view. When it comes to Oluchi, she is completely the opposite. This is someone who is totally centered, totally dedicated, who says 'Thank you.'"

"For a while, I was nervous about portraying women because of the objectification that automatically comes with it, whether the artist intends or not."

"Oluchi is like a role model to Nigerian aspiring models."

"I immediately noticed the sneakers, jeans, T-shirts, and denim jackets of New Yorkers. As the season changes, their casual uniform always stays the same. The style of New Yorkers and Nigerians couldn’t be more different. New Yorkers are effortless and cool, while the Nigerian woman is more feminine and embellished. However, we all wear the same accessories: Hermès, Chanel, Céline, Saint Laurent, Givenchy. Lagos women also flaunt their culture unapologetically...Where they are from locally has a lot to do with how they style their garments."

"The retail experience is changing in Nigeria, so most of the international designs are either purchased online at a retail outlet like Mall for Africa or at the Palms Shopping Mall in Lekki, Lagos. Others shop at the luxury concept fashion store Alara or Temple Muse. And for a range of designs made in their native country, Nigerian women shop at Grey Velvet. The days of flying to shop is coming to an end. Nigerians now shop with a sense of pride and confidence, knowing that the product they would normally buy a travel ticket to get is now available in their country, and they can trust that it’s all original."

"I feel like I'm at a transition where I need to figure it out. In the meantime, I just keep living my life and having fun."

"Weddings are a huge tradition in Nigeria. Our clothes are mostly customised with authentic local fabrics like aso-oke and lace. These are always elaborate and glamorous. Apart from the actual outfit, which is usually made from exquisite embroideries, we would usually wear a head wrap and lots of jewellery. Gowns from brands like Valentino are now being worn to traditional events, as they fit the aesthetic of our clothes. The shoes and other accessories tend to be from top international brands."

"Two years ago (1998) I was a student in high school. I never thought I'm going to go on a plane, leave Lagos and leave my mom and dad.... It all happened all of a sudden."

"You don't have to have blue eyes and blond hair to be beautiful."

"We chose Oluchi because we found that, from all the girls that entered the competition, she had the most personality."

"Don't try to kill yourself to look like a model because we have so much more time to take care of ourselves. We can wake up, go to the gym, try all kinds of products. Of course, you're going to look good."

"On the African continent, Nigeria is still way behind. Johanesburg is a lot more structured and I think that it is because they have been around for many years. Nigeria will still get there but we don't have the talent and the skills like South Africans."

"I am an African woman. I am also a Nigerian woman. We grew up with multi-tasking. You learn to know how to work it out."

"Nigerian women love fashion. I think Nigerian fashion industry is still at its early stage. South Africa is way ahead of us. Even Senegal and Ivory Coast were ahead of Nigeria. The industry is growing. It takes years of dedication and hard work. It must not be overnight so you have to be patient."

"I think it is just marrying your best friend more than anything. A man that will understand you; a man that will support you in good and bad times. My husband is my best friend."

"I am happiest when I am dancing to my favorite music."

"I love a very elongated kind of Modigliani proportion. I love the shape of her head and the proportion of her body (Oluchi)."