“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 take every role seriously. Personally, I never look at any role as Michael White. I've done that my entire life. I've never excluded myself because of color. It's never been part of the radar, when I look at anything I do. The majority of the roles that I've played have had very little to do with being black. It doesn't matter what color you are.” LooksLittlesMatterDoneBlackWhiteRolesColorMajorityExcludedRadar Author:Michael Jai White
“So long as our textbooks hide from us the roles that people of color have played in exploration, from at least 6000 BC to the twentieth century, they encourage us to look to Europe and its extensions as the seat of all knowledge and intelligence. So long as they say “discover,” they imply that whites are the only people who really matter. So long as they simply celebrate Columbus, rather than teach both sides of his exploit, they encourage us to identify with white Western exploitation rather than study it.” PeopleLooksLongMatterSidesWhiteRolesTeachStudyCenturyColorEuropeWesternCelebrateSeatsExplorationExploitationExtensionsBoth SidesTwentieth CenturyExploitsTextbooksColumbus Book:Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong Source: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
“I think the world is ready for people of color to take on more heroic and leading roles, and not always be the sidekick, the nemesis or any sort of stereotype of what a person of color can play typically in a Hollywood picture.” PeopleThinkingWorldPersonsPlayRolesColorReadyHollywoodHeroicStereotypeNemesisSidekicks Author:Jessica Alba
“I always emphasize the historic role of people of color in organizing and protesting to achieve justice.” PeopleJusticeRolesAchieveColorHistoric Author:Howard Zinn
“I just hope this [Emmy] is now a part of the status quo that women of color are included in the narratives that continue to write lead roles for us.” WritingRolesColorNarrativeStatus QuoEmmys Author:Viola Davis
“Let me tell you something: The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” OpportunityWinningRolesColorLet MeAfrican American WomenEmmys Author:Viola Davis
“I see myself as no color. I can play the role of a man. I can paint my face white if I want to and play the role of white. I can play a green, I can be a purple. I think I have that kind of frame and that kind of attitude where I can play an animal. If you think in color, then everyone around you is going to think in color and that puts limits on the way you think. I don't think like that. A lot of the roles that I'm doing are roles that a man or a person of any color can do.” IfsThinkingMenWayWantKindPersonsI CanPlayFacesCan DoWhiteAnimalAttitudeRolesColorLimitsGreenPaintPurple Author:Grace Jones
“When I started out in the '90s, there were not many people of color writing, directing and producing - hence, the roles for people of color were few and far between. There's still few roles in England [where she's from].” PeopleWritingStillsRolesColorEngland Author:Archie Panjabi
“The pleasure a man gets from a landscape would [not] last long if he were convinced a priori that the forms and colors he sees are just forms and colors, that all structures in which they play a role are purely subjective and have no relation whatsoever to any meaningful order or totality, that they simply and necessarily express nothing....No walk through the landscape is necessary any longer; and thus the very concept of landscape as experienced by a pedestrian becomes meaningless and arbitrary. Landscape deteriorates altogether into landscaping.” IfsMenLongPlayLastsFormOrderWalksPleasureRolesColorConceptsRelationStructureConvincedMeaningfulLandscapeMeaninglessSubjectiveArbitraryTotalityPedestriansLandscaping Author:Max Horkheimer
“When I grew up I assembled my role models à la cart. I wanted to be an astrophysicist. If I tried to find a role model who grew up in the Bronx with my skin color who was an astrophysicist, I would never have become an astrophysicist.” IfsWantedRolesColorGrewGrew UpModelsSkinsRole ModelsCartsSkin ColorBronx Author:Neil deGrasse Tyson
“What I find astounding is that we've had a president who is black in office for the past eight years, who gets most of his funding from the liberal elite in Hollywood. Yet, there are not very many roles for people of color. How can that be? And why is it just now being addressed?” PeopleYearsPastBlackPresidentRolesColorOfficeHollywoodEightElitesFunding Author:Stacey Dash
“The two most important forms of diversity when it comes to innovation are visible diversity (typically skin color, age, gender, etc.) and underrepresentation (anytime someone is less than 15% of the majority group). Other forms of diversity are also relevant but these are the ones that psychologically play the most role in how someone engages with the innovative process.” TwoImportantPlayAgeFormProcessRolesGroupsColorDiversitySkinsInnovationMajorityGenderVisibleEtcRelevantInnovativeSkin Color Author:David Livermore
“The documentary we are working on is about my mother, Bev Umehara, for whom our film company, Bev's Girl Films, is named after. It is a passion project that I have wanted to make since her unexpected passing in 1999. The film is about my mother's calling which came late in life, at 47, when she made the sudden transformation from a humble hardworking secretary and mother of four, into a labor activist, a respected union leader, and a role model for rank-and-file workers, women of color, and for all Asian Pacific Americans.” MadeWantedFilmMotherGirlPassionCompanyLeaderRolesFourColorCallingProjectsLateModelsLaborTransformationUnionsWorkersHumblePassingPassingsUnexpectedActivistRole ModelsSecretaryDocumentariesAsianFilesPacificHardworking Author:Garth Kravits
“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
“I get letters from kids from all over the country. I always try to answer them because there were people I looked up to in my youth and just wanted to be in contact with. It's also important to realize that you find your role models in a lot of different places. I've never believed that your role models have to look like you. You can find them in all sort of colors, shapes and sizes.” PeopleTryingLooksImportantDifferentCountryKidsWantedRealizingAnswersRolesYouthColorLike YouShapesModelsLettersSizeContactRole ModelsDifferent Place Author:Condoleezza Rice
“Unfortunately, there's a lack of roles for women of color, so you actually have to be the engineer creating some of those roles.” RolesColorCreatingEngineers Author:Octavia Spencer
“In America right now, the people who talk about race the most are people of color - and if we are going to move the needle forward, it's WHITE people who need to acknowledge their role in racism.” PeopleIfsNeedsAmericaMovingWhiteRaceRolesColorRight NowRacismAcknowledgeNeedles Author:Jodi Picoult