A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

“ Sound is a social currency. ”

— Christine Sun Kim

“ I mostly have to think about identity when it's imposed on me. When people on the street send slurs my way. When forms require me to pick a gender. ”

— Alok Vaid-Menon

“ I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. ”

— Frida Kahlo

“ I truly believe American Sign Language is important because from the beginning, when a child is born, if they learn ASL, they have full access to information. ”

— Christine Sun Kim, 2017

“ I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way. ”

— Georgia O'Keeffe

“ You can start late, look different, be uncertain, and still succeed. ”

— Misty Copeland

“ As a deaf person living in a world of sound, it's as if I was living in a foreign country, blindly following its rules, customs, behaviors, and norms without ever questioning them. ”

— Christine Sun Kim

“ There are as many genders as there are people. ”

— Alok Vaid-Menon, 2022

“ You may be the first, but make sure you're not the last. ”

— Kamala Harris, 2020

“ That brain of mine is something more than merely mortal; as time will show. ”

— Ada Lovelace

“ In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn. ”

— Octavia Butler, 1998

“ The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. ”

— Alice Walker

“ It's pretty hard for the Lord to guide you if you haven't made up your mind which way to go. ”

— Madam C.J. Walker

“ Nothing about us, without us. ”

— Sinéad Burke, 2023

“ What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. ”

— Jane Goodall

“ Someone needs to explain to me why wanting clean drinking water makes you an activist. ”

— Winona LaDuke

“ The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. ”

— bell hooks, 2000

“ We all have agency over our own stories, and no one can strip you of that agency. Your story is yours and it's your story to tell. ”

— Janet Mock, 2014

“ One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world. ”

— Malala Yousafzai, 2013

“ 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

“ Industry and global institutions must appreciate that ensuring economic justice, equity and ecological integrity are of greater value than profits at any cost. ”

— Wangari Maathai, 2004