A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

“ It's an artist's duty to reflect the times in which we live. ”

— Nina Simone

“ I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. ”

— Nina Simone

“ I think ageing is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person that you always should have been. ”

— David Bowie

“ I can't wake you up. You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you. ”

— John Lennon, 1980

“ Growing up in the Western world, there are so many times where I'm like, Oh, I'm not white. My name is not that easy to say. I'm not as relatable as a white person. ”

— Rina Sawayama, 2020

“ People are just afraid of things too much. Afraid of things that don't necessarily merit fear. ”

— Frank Ocean, 2012

“ I never thought of being blind as a disadvantage, and I never thought of being black as a disadvantage. I am what I am. I love me! ”

— Stevie Wonder, 2012

“ You're trying to take all this misunderstanding and loathing, and you're trying to turn it into love, which is the wonderful thing that happens when you're trying to make music out of the rough, hard, bad things. ”

— Bruce Springsteen, 2018

“ My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and I never leave the house because of it. ”

— Kid Cudi, 2016

“ I won't be a rock star. I will be a legend. ”

— Freddie Mercury

“ Everybody supports women until a woman's doing better than you. ”

— Sofia Isella, 2023

“ For the longest time I was trying to be white and fit in, that's also fine at some points in your life, I had to do that to survive in certain spaces. ”

— Rina Sawayama, 2020

“ Small changes end up making a big difference. It's about being a lot nicer to each other. It's just saying, 'Treat people with kindness.' ”

— Harry Styles

“ I am Puerto Rican, I am Caribbean, and my music, my culture, my country's history run through my veins, from plena to reggaeton. ”

— Bad Bunny

“ Wherever we are, this is home. Wherever I go, I'll always be Puerto Rican. ”

— Bad Bunny, 2025

“ Bringing our true self is possible only when there is no fear of retribution or ridicule, and in fact appreciation and celebration of what makes each of us unique. ”

— Roma Bindroo

“ In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now. ”

— Wangari Maathai, 2004

“ There is not an industry I can think of where there is equal pay for equal work, or abuse of power doesn't exist, for men and for women. And so equality is not a political issue, it's a humanitarian issue. ”

— Cate Blanchett, 2018

“ This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars. ”

— Billy Porter, 2019

“ Stop assuming we're incompetent. We are talented; we work hard. It's just ableism, the assumption that people with disabilities are inferior, that gets in our way. ”

— Haben Girma, 2019

“ Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. ”

— Marie Curie