A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

“ I can't overstate the biggest joy, which is really seeing yourself. I know I look different to others, but to me I'm just starting to look like myself. ”

— Elliot Page, 2021

“ I recognize how hard this is for people, and I recognize how hard it is for me. But I have a certain set of skills that allow me to deal with this stuff. And I realized, with gratitude, optimism is sustainable. ”

— Michael J. Fox, 2023

“ If your dream only includes you, it's too small. ”

— Ava DuVernay

“ I'm a proud person who happens to be deaf. ”

— Marlee Matlin

“ I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me... the highest positive is forgiveness. ”

— Sidney Poitier, 2000

“ I was everywhere with everybody, and at the same time I was all by myself. ”

— Trevor Noah, 2016

“ If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else? ”

— RuPaul, 2009

“ I'm trying to take the stigma off the word ambitious, so we encourage more little girls to be ambitious, because I do think that's how society will change. ”

— Reese Witherspoon

“ 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

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

— Ali Wong, 2015

“ Depression is not as easy as saying, 'Just find your joy and you're going to become happy.' That was never my experience. ”

— Jonathan Van Ness, 2019

“ Be kind to one another. ”

— Ellen DeGeneres

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

— Laverne Cox

“ Turn your wounds into wisdom. ”

— Oprah Winfrey

“ I know that the ones who love us will miss us. ”

— Keanu Reeves, 2019

“ 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

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

— Awkwafina, 2018

“ 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

“ There is hope in the young people out there. And I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets: I see you, I admire you, I thank you. ”

— Zendaya, 2020

“ I use my platform for more than just myself. To neglect the political is to neglect what essentially is your job of storytelling. ”

— Zendaya

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

— Tom Hanks, 2019