Being a 'good man' is something you do, not something you are.
In a world that wants women to whisper, I choose to yell.
Never underestimate the power of confidence. If you believe you're the dopest thing walking, you might convince people of the same just because you're so headstrong about it as a fact.
I have no love for those who consider themselves 'good people' but stand idly by as the world crumbles around them. It's not enough to personally not do damage. If you're present as someone else destroys what's around you and you do nothing, you helped them.
The most glaring aspect of white privilege is that when someone is described neutrally - without indicating color or ethnicity - more often than not, people will assume that the person is white. That assumption indicates an uncomfortable truth: in our society, whiteness determines humanity.
Being able to live without having to be defined by your skin color is the hallmark of privilege.
People are prospering from being unapologetically offensive, trite, and stupid. And we are tweeting ourselves into high blood pressure and ulcers trying to tell them to do better... Being a pompous nut biscuit is now a publicity strategy, and I don't know what we can do to end the madness.
'Imposter Syndrome' is the feeling of wearing a mask and playing a role that one does not feel at home in. It is when you feel like you or your work is a fluke and that you're a dwarf amongst giants. Many of us have this, especially when we're in some sort of creative industry.
If we don't challenge each other to use our platforms for better than our niches or what our quote-unquote brand is, what are we doing as influencers? If we can't activate our audiences at the times it's important or needed, then what do we have these platforms for?
Humor is this great equalizer. It gets people's defenses down, and once they're down, you can discuss some really difficult topics.
I think that if everybody committed themselves to making a better world than how we found it, things would be much better than what they are.
Fear has a very concrete power of keeping us from doing and saying the things that are our purpose.
Being conscious of Global Blackness is knowing that we are not an island of our struggle but a nation of our triumphs. That's blackness to me.
I need to sleep more. The 'sleep when I die' mantra is not cute.
I want people to see my color and my culture written all over me, because I am proud of the skin I'm in. It is an important part of my identity. What I don't want them to do is mistreat me because of it.
You can't just set the vision, take a nap, and not keep working on making your vision happen. Your intention has to be backed by work.
I feel like my career is to speak truth to power, and a lot of times, that sounds like troublemaking. If speaking truth is troublemaking, then yes, I will consider myself a professional at that.
People think you can find a mentor by walking up to somebody and saying, 'Hey, be my mentor,' or by sending an e-mail to someone you've never e-mailed before and saying, 'Hey, I want you to mentor me.' But, mentorship really happens in rooms that you're actually in.
Being quiet is comfortable. Keeping things the way they've been is comfortable. And all comfort has done is maintain the status quo.
People need to seek out some diversity in their life. One of my friends is a pig farmer in Michigan, and even she has black friends. She's in the middle of nowhere - the closest airport is, like, three hours away - and she manages to connect with black people.
