Quotes About Representation

When we've had images that perpetuate the negative stereotype of people of color, we've always had 'The Cosby Show' to hold up against that. And the fact that we no longer have that kinda leaves us not in a great place in terms of having the wide scope of the images of people of color.

I don't think kids of color should have to search far and wide to find books that reflect their experience.

Quite frankly, my constituency crosses a very wide swath of the political spectrum.

When you're a Black actress, the box that we often get put in is so small. And me being a dark-skinned Black actress, the opportunities become so limited in a way that is just wrong. It's not fair. I'm so capable of playing a wide variety of roles. It comes down to whether or not I'm given the opportunity to do it.

When I was a child, the world of makeup was so different. There wasn't the wide range of shades available for darker skin tones like there is now.

When I played Robert Howard in 'The Whole Wide World', I was struggling with it. There's this dual thing where you feel real good about being able to play this juicy part, and then there's constant shame: 'Who am I to pretend to know who this guy was? Who am I to represent this guy for people who never knew him?'

So many young black women love science, technology, engineering, and maths. But that's not the widely held image of the kind of person who likes those things.

Many of Judy Blume's books - which I devoured when I was growing up and where I found characters that were believable because they were a lot like me - caused considerable consternation when they were first published, but now they're widely accepted as an essential part of the children's literary canon.

I won't say there aren't 'smart' roles for women, but the variety is limited. I feel the real representation is not widely available in Bollywood.

Developers need to start moving away from the entitled macho-male power fantasy in their games. They need to recognize that there are wider stories that they can tell.

Let's start spreading work experience and opportunities a little wider so that the photographers, writers, and TV producers of tomorrow are drawn from a broader section of society.

I'm just trying to stretch the public space wider and make it more open so that a wider variety of people and faces and stories and perspectives and also expertise can come through. So everything that I do rests on that, trying to support on other voices.

We, as plus-size women, want the jewelry to fit like it was meant for us. Not like, OK, we're just going to add a couple links here to make it fit wider necks. I want jewelry that complements us.

I want to see definitions of what's beautiful, compelling, palatable, marketable, sexy, and prestigious open up to a wider range of bodies, identities, and backgrounds.

It is wrong if nearly every time we hear a black or Asian actor portraying their lives they are actually speaking the words of someone who has never experienced their reality. And to effectively silence disabled people from telling their own truth on film or TV is close to criminal and will not help wider society understand their reality.

There's not many models in the U.S. that have my depth - like, really dark skin - that are also plus size. Skin color has been one of those things we haven't really, really addressed on a large, widespread scale.

When we in Congress set the terms under which immigrants in this country must live, we wield a power that is checked primarily by our individual sense of fairness: the power to set taxes and make laws that apply to people who do not have representation.

I was always the hero's girlfriend or wife - actually, the woman with no voice.

Initially, women only had to portray married wife roles on TV, but now there are show that are offering other roles to portray for women. Earlier, all drama used to revolve only around married women, which is not the case now. Even the male actors have a good opportunity for better roles now.

So many times, shows say they're set somewhere - like in Chicago, 'The Good Wife' - but it doesn't feel like Chicago.

The texture my hair, my skin tone; it does work, you don't have to change. But historically we've seen fashion try to change that: straighten your hair, thrown on a super straight silky wig, lighten your skin tone.

Even in reality shows, how they look at black women like they're the monsters - snatching wigs, and weaves and wigs, weaves and wigs, basically, and throwing water and stuff. That's how people see us often, as we are the enemies of things. I wanted to change that because that's not a good example.

Wikipedia is a strange thing. Whoever gets there first, you know, they decide. Like the picture: You can't choose it! You can't be like, 'You know, I hate that picture of me doing stand-up from 2005 - that doesn't exemplify who I am.' You take it down, and someone puts it back up.

There's always a wild card or two when you're casting. I'm usually the wild card. In a room of Caucasian guys, a director might be like, 'OK, let's see, like, two guys who aren't. And maybe they'll be the wild card choice.'