Walter Dean Myers Quotes

I had to confront my fears and master my every demonic thought about inferiority, insecurity, or the fear of being black, young, and gifted in this Western culture.

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. Representation is very important.

My parents have taught me the value of reading and self-love through books that have characters that look like me and talk like me.

For the young generation, when they see that there is a film director from Cambodia to go on to be nominated, for them, a lot can change. I don't know another way to restore our identity if it's not art.

If a kid is reading a book about someone who looks like them but doesn't talk like them, we stunt their growth by dissing them.

I didn't see a lot of role models or women who looked like me on screen when I was growing up. For me, one thing that changed all of that was seeing Keke Palmer in 'Akeelah and The Bee.' That film made me realize that I wasn't an alien.

I tend to focus on young people and on giving a voice to groups of people who don't normally get their voices heard.

I had to fight like hell to convince people I was beautiful in my own Polish half-breed way.

You have to find a way - and thankfully for me, it's been music - to separate yourself from the racial identity. It's not easy, and I continue to work, God bless, and I'm really, truly appreciative of it.

I was a very quiet, shy child. I grew up in a small town, Louisville, Kentucky, and there weren't too many Hawaiian-Filipino girls, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. I didn't look like everyone else and didn't feel I belonged... But these things only build character and make you stronger. It taught me to grow into the woman I was to become.

I've been blessed to spend time with young people and help encourage an environment where it's comfortable for them to be who they are. That's precious for children.

If everyone in your class has heroes, and they can relate to them in textbooks and literature, and then you don't see any of your heritage there, you feel less than. And I always wanted to be able to make Latin kids like myself feel more than.

A hero that doesn't look like you makes you want to be something else.

That's what I loved about 'Community' - we had one of the most diverse casts on TV, but we didn't emphasize culture. And yet, we also didn't run away from it.

Doing and making positive programming for young people is so important to me, and I will keep doing it.

I was very conscious of the world being this very crazed place that demanded explanation. I didn't see a whole lot of people who looked like me doing it on television.

The way that I opened the door for the young people that come from where I come from and that have a different background, that is what I want to be remembered for.

I just think about little me - what it would have meant to me to see a chubby girl in movies and a big girl get the guy and be the princess, be the hero. I think that would've really changed a lot for me.

We always talk about how important representation is. It's so important to see someone that looks like you - whether you're African American, Asian, Indian or whatever your background is - doing incredible things. It's just motivation to go out there and do incredible things yourself.

It's important, as a young person of color, to see yourself reflected in the media.

Mustafa Ali is who I wanted to see when I was growing up. I'm not wearing anything on my head; I'm not saying anything in Arabic. I'm just going to come out as Mustafa Ali.

My passion, personally, is being my true self while inspiring young people who are struggling with their identities to love themselves for who they are.

I think representation is the most important thing in the world. People who are young look up to the things that they see in the media. They want to relate and to be able to say, 'Wow, I can be successful.'

As young people, you want to see people who in some way look like you to some degree, because it makes it a little easier for you to aspire to take on the qualities of those people.

I don't think being Latin queen is a disadvantage.