A curated register of quotes from under-represented voices.

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

— Nina Simone

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

— Nina Simone

“ 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

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

— John Lennon, 1980

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

— Sofia Isella, 2023

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

— Bad Bunny, 2025

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

— David Bowie

“ 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

“ 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

“ 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

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

— Freddie Mercury

“ 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

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

— Laverne Cox

“ There are years that ask questions and years that answer. ”

— Zora Neale Hurston, 1937

“ We have to protect our body and our mind. It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head. ”

— Simone Biles, 2021

“ It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. ”

— Wangari Maathai

“ Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. ”

— Wilma Rudolph

“ My disability is not something I've had to overcome. I'm still Deafblind. The biggest barrier I face is ableism. ”

— Haben Girma, 2019