A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

“ Be kind to one another. ”

— Ellen DeGeneres

“ If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice. Today is one of the most indelible days of my life because of Mark Wahlberg, WME and a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment. ”

— Michelle Williams, 2018

“ Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. ”

— Fred Rogers, 2003

“ I think having a baby sliced out of you is pretty hardcore. ”

— Ali Wong, 2015

“ 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

“ I encourage women to step up. Don't wait for somebody to ask you. ”

— Reese Witherspoon

“ I became an artist, and thank god I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. ”

— Viola Davis, 2017

“ Being kind is a choice that you can make absolutely every single day. ”

— Tom Hanks, 2019

“ I'm not OK with someone writing the Asian experience for an Asian character. ”

— Awkwafina, 2019

“ Just me existing, as an openly black transgender woman from a working-class background, thriving, is a political act. ”

— Laverne Cox

“ If I was being 'sold' as a commodity of equal value to my male counterpart and worked as hard as him, I couldn't reconcile why I wasn't being remunerated equally. ”

— Cate Blanchett

“ It's hard as a young person of a different ethnicity or background to look at the TV and not see anyone who looks like you. ”

— Zendaya, 2016

“ Ever since I could form coherent thoughts, I knew I was a girl trapped inside a boy's body. There was never any confusion in my mind. ”

— Jazz Jennings, 2016

“ Europeans didn't vibe with the way women held power in many Native societies. ”

— Lily Gladstone, 2023

“ The only thing that separates women of colour from anyone else is opportunity. ”

— Viola Davis, 2015

“ The handicap of deafness is not in the ear; it is in the mind. ”

— Marlee Matlin

“ It is a revolutionary act simply to be who you are. ”

— Laverne Cox

“ I'm definitely not all Asians, but the thing that I've always done is aggressively been myself. ”

— Awkwafina, 2018

“ Language brings with it an identity and a culture, or at least the perception of it. A shared language says 'We're the same.' A language barrier says 'We're different.' ”

— Trevor Noah, 2016

“ Blood, sweat and respect. First two you give, the last one you earn. ”

— Dwayne Johnson, 2012

“ I shall dance all my life. ”

— Josephine Baker