Octavia Spencer Quotes

I think it's worth putting energy into affirmative action in terms of having diversity in positions of power because the door was shut for so long.

I feel that for a lot of my career, I had success, I was adored, but I was also this alien creature. I want to show that I have the skill like any other female model, and I'm asking for the same equal treatment and equal respect as any other female model.

The more women and people of color who find positions of influence, the more women and people of color who will find positions of influence. So we need critical mass, and we're still working toward that. I won't be satisfied until we're at the 50-50 place, where we ought to be.

I represent opportunities for other women and other people of color, and I'm trying to start my own kind of movement.

I'm going to keep doing the comedy and the art that I do. I'm going to keep uplifting marginalized voices, and I think that's my place to do that.

If we want little girls and young women and people of color to see they have a place in the tech world, it's up to us to make that place for them.

It's important to be an ally. You don't have to be a black woman to think we should have more black women in tech.

I believe Native Americans, women, and all of us deserve representation, and that we all need to fight with everything we have to make it so.

I'm trying to appeal to the disenfranchised everybody, not just specifically gay.

I did not want my tombstone to read, 'She kept a really clean house.' I think I'd like them to remember me by saying, 'She opened government to everyone.'

I think it is important that you have people from all different vanguards, from all different walks of society and different viewpoints to be focused on the struggle for equality and democracy. We need as many champions for the cause and as many events as possible to help keep this in focus.

I'm always excited when I make it on anyone's list - even if it's for affirmative action. My attitude is, 'Am I the token woman on this list? Because I'll take it.'

Avon is a unique place to work; we've got family-friendly policies. We have more senior women in high-level management than any other company; 46 percent of our officers are women.

Education promotes equality and lifts people out of poverty. It teaches children how to become good citizens. Education is not just for a privileged few, it is for everyone. It is a fundamental human right.

The very good thing about MFA programs is their democratizing. They bring a lot of different people to the table.

The Finland of the 21st century can thrive only if women of learning - in common with their male counterparts - are guaranteed the opportunity to use their creative potential to the full.

I have always felt my role was to do anything I could to enable the powerless to speak. I want America to hear these voices because they are beautiful voices.

I'm a fierce advocate for diversity. Always have been, always will be.

We need leaders who will stand up for the little guy and listen once again.

Stronger than all the armies is the idea whose time has come. The time has come for equality in sharing in government and education, and in employment. It will not be stayed or denied. It is here.

This is one country. It has become that way because all people who have come here had an equal right to develop their talent.

Everything hinges on education. Without it, you can't advocate for proper health care, for housing, for a civil rights bill that ensures your rights.

So many minority youths had volunteered...that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself

Ted Kennedy’s life’s work was not to champion those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard, to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity, to make real the dream of our founding.

f you don't have a seat at the table, then bring a folding chair.