A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

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

— Sofia Isella, 2023

“ 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

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

— Bad Bunny, 2025

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

— Freddie Mercury

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

— Frank Ocean, 2012

“ 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

“ 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 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

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

— Nina Simone

“ 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

“ 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

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

— Nina Simone

“ 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

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

— David Bowie

“ Voting rights for me are the point of entry to democracy. ”

— Stacey Abrams, 2021

“ I'm ready mentally, physically, and emotionally. And I'm here to stay, I'm not back, I'm better. ”

— Sha'Carri Richardson, 2023

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

— Ada Lovelace

“ You are the storyteller of your own life. ”

— Isabel Allende

“ Your sexuality and your gender identity are one part of who you are. But it's so important that you focus on who you are and what you want for yourself. ”

— Munroe Bergdorf

“ The only way to survive is by taking care of one another. ”

— Grace Lee Boggs