“Making African American films are hard in Hollywood. We need to rely on a support network and bring more cohesion to different filmmakers, actors, producers etc. It's a very difficult business. There aren't a lot of Africans Americans or people of color in high positions in Hollywood that we can green-light films.” PeopleNeedsDifferentHardLightFilmActorsDifficultSupportPositionColorHollywoodGreenProducersAfrican AmericanFilmmakerRelyEtcCohesionAmerican FilmGreen Lights Author:Paula Patton
“As an ambiguously non-white actor, I've been able to play light-skinned African American guys, Latinos, and I don't think that I've ever had to play some kind of ethnic stereotype or something that was typed specifically for a person of color.” ThinkingKindPersonsPlayLightAbleGuyActorsWhiteColorAfrican AmericanStereotypeLatinoAmerican GuysEthnic Stereotypes Author:Daniel Sunjata
“As an African-American male born with a couple of strikes against you because of your skin color, I think it's very, very important to have some positive role models around, especially male influences.” ThinkingImportantBornRolesInfluenceColorCoupleModelsSkinsMalesStrikesAfrican AmericanRole ModelsSkin ColorPositive Role Model Author:Omari Hardwick
“I'm African-American by my culture, not by my color. Race does not exist.” DoeCultureRaceColorAfrican American Author:Terry Crews
“I don't play too much into the color game, because I don't want to be the best African American quarterback, I want to be the best quarterback.” WantPlayGamesToo MuchColorAfrican AmericanBeing The BestQuarterback Author:Robert Griffin III
“The suggestion of denying any measure of their full political rights to such a great group of our population as the colored people is one which, however it might be received in some other quarters, could not possibly be permitted by one who feels a responsibility for living up to the traditions and maintaining the principles of the Republican Party. Our Constitution guarantees equal rights to all our citizens, without discrimination on account of race or color. I have taken my oath to support that Constitution.” FeelsMightPoliticalPartyRaceResponsibilityPrinciplesSupportTakenRightsGroupsColorCitizensRepublicanEqualTraditionAccountsConstitutionPopulationDiscriminationCivil RightsAfrican AmericanGuaranteesQuartersSuggestionsRepublican PartyMaintainingEqual RightsOathPolitical Rights Author:Calvin Coolidge
“In Sumter and other counties [in South Carolina] the whites are resorting to intimidation and violence to prevent the colored people from organizing for the elections. The division there is still on the color line. Substantially all the whites are Democrats and all the colored people are Republicans. There is no political principle in dispute between them. The whites have the intelligence, the property, and the courage which make power. The negroes are for the most part ignorant, poor, and timid. My view is that the whites must be divided there before a better state of things will prevail.” PeopleStillsStatesPoliticalPoliticsLinesPoorViewsPrinciplesViolenceColorRepublicanRelationElectionPropertyDemocratSouthIgnorantAfrican AmericanDivisionDividedDisputesRace RelationsCountyCarolinaIntimidationSouth Carolina Author:Rutherford B. Hayes
“Beyond [Barack Obama] having made history as the first African-American president, I hope that he gets re-elected for what he does while in office, not for his skin color. I certainly believe he has the capacity.” FirstsBelieveDoeMadePresidentColorOfficeCapacitySkinsBarackAfrican AmericanAmerican PresidentSkin Color Author:Lenny Kravitz
“I was very proud and grateful to be the first African-American woman in the position. I thought it said a lot about our country that we had back-to-back African-American Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and then me. I also thought it said a lot about President Bush that he didn't see limits on the highest ranking diplomat in terms of color. It's a hard job, but really the best one in government.” FirstsSaidCountryHardStatesGovernmentJobsPresidentTermPositionColorProudLimitsHighestGratefulOur CountryAfrican AmericanSecretaryPresident BushDiplomatsAmerican WomanRankingAfrican American Women Author:Condoleezza Rice
“You always wonder whether the attacks on my capabilities came from an honest evaluation of my accomplishments or from stereotypical presumptions that we, people of color, just can't do it, for some reason. This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.” PeopleReasonWonderHonestColorBattleConstantAfrican AmericanAccomplishmentAccomplishedCapabilityStereotypeLatinoPresumptionEvaluation Author:Sonia Sotomayor
“There still aren't enough[ roles for women of color]. And I'd say that's the case, not only for African-American women, but for all women in the Hollywood game. It's just slim pickings, and a very challenging time for us. I think that's why more of us need to work our way behind the camera in order to create roles that really illuminate who women are. We still have room for growth in that area, without a doubt.” ThinkingWayNeedsStillsEnoughOrderGamesGrowthChallengesRoomsBehindsRolesCasesDoubtColorAreasHollywoodCamerasAfrican AmericanSlimAmerican WomanAfrican American WomenChallenging Times Author:Jada Pinkett Smith
“If you recall when [John] Kennedy passed an edict, 'Every person you hire in the Post Office must be African American,' the challenge with that is if all of a sudden, you are hired just because of the color of your skin, ability has nothing to do with it.And if ability has nothing to do with it, what does it do? It promotes mediocrity.” IfsPersonsDoeChallengesAbilityColorOfficeSkinsAfrican AmericanPostsMediocrityRecallsPost OfficeJohn Kennedy Author:Rafael Cruz
“There's a sorry history of these kinds of charges of bias being leveled at women and judges of color, and also gay and lesbian judges. The theory being that they're going to be incapable of a disinterested judgment on matters that involve their own identity groups. And it came up famously for Constance Baker Motley who was one of the first African American federal judges in a case involving sex discrimination.” FirstsKindMatterSexCasesGroupsIdentityColorJudgingTheoryGayJudgmentSorryDiscriminationAfrican AmericanBiasIncapableInvolvingBakersDisinterestedFederal JudgesSex Discrimination Author:Deborah Rhode
“People have assumed that I have to run the ball before I can throw it most all of my career, all the way back before high school. It's a stereotype put on me for a long time because I'm African-American and I'm a dual-threat quarterback. I don't know why that stereotype is still around. It's about talent and the ability to throw the ball, not the color of your skin or your ability to also be a dangerous runner.” PeopleKnowsWayLongStillsI CanRunningSchoolAbilityCareersTalentDangerousColorLong TimeHigh SchoolSkinsBallsThreatAfrican AmericanRunnersStereotypeQuarterback Author:Deshaun Watson
“I was looking for excellence in any color or gender it comes in. Some of my top people are African American but not all of them.” PeopleColorExcellenceGenderAfrican American Author:T. D. Jakes
“If you look at my collaborations, it is very much in line with all these others in the sense that it is a building of community, particularly among artists of color. This is what I learned from the example of elder African-American artists, which is where it is all coming from; to refuse to be silenced.” IfsLooksArtistCommunityLinesExampleBuildingColorRefuseAfrican AmericanCollaborationElders Author:Vijay Iyer
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we did create Color of Change, an organization which focused on African-Americans in particular, because we felt that there was a big gap there in terms of online advocacy which had left the black community particularly vulnerable.” BigsLeftFeltBlackTermCommunityParticularColorOrganizationFocusedVulnerableAfrican AmericanOnlineGapsHurricanesAdvocacyAftermathKatrinaBlack CommunityHurricane Katrina Author:Van Jones
“When I think of the Harlem Renaissance, I think of bright colors, and bold, dynamic art. African American artists of the period were, in large measure, breaking out of the constrictions white society had set for them. They were claiming and remaking their own images, and doing so in bold and striking ways.” ThinkingWayArtArtistWhiteColorPeriodsAfrican AmericanRenaissanceHarlemBright ColorsHarlem Renaissance Author:Nikki Grimes
“It's important for women to understand that it's bad enough that we don't make dollar-for-dollar what men do, but when you distill that down to women of color, our Latinas and our African American women, it's even less than that 78 cents.” MenImportantEnoughColorDollarsAfrican AmericanCentsAmerican WomanAfrican American WomenLatina Author:Nina Turner
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” ChildrenLittlesCharacterDreamNationsJusticeFourTeachingIdentityColorKingsIntegrityOne DaySpeechDiversityRacismSkinsHuman RightsConservativeEqualitySillyDiscriminationAfrican AmericanHypocrisyBlack PeopleJudgedAmerican DreamDiverseAmerican HistorySentimentalGood CharacterI Had A DreamUnity In DiversityOregonSkin ColorEquality And JusticeBeing EqualHappy ChildrenIntegrity And CharacterIntegrity CharacterEquality Of PeopleEquality For AllI Have A Dream SpeechKings SpeechAnti RacistKings And LoveBeing JudgedGood KingsSocial EqualityPeaceful ProtestSlave OwnersInjustice And OppressionAnti DiscriminationBlack SkinRacism And PrejudiceDark SkinnedJustice EqualityJudge Of CharacterTolerance And DiversityBrown SkinMarch On WashingtonPolitical EqualityRace And ColorDefects Of CharacterTrue EqualityAfrican RacePreschool Children Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I grew up in Houston, and I remember we had separate drinking fountains, and black people sat in the balcony of the theater... We had an African-American housekeeper growing up who was really like my second mother. I thought it was silly - hatred just because of the color of somebody's skin.” PeopleRememberMotherBlackGrowing UpGrowingColorGrewGrew UpHatredSkinsTheaterDrinkingSillyAfrican AmericanSatBlack PeopleFountainHoustonBalconiesHousekeepers Author:Dennis Quaid