Keke Palmer Quotes

Sometimes, when you grow up in one of these poverty-stricken neighborhoods where the educational system isn't the best, you don't realize that you have any choices.

I went to Paterson Public School No. 6. At the time, it was the worst school in the city. Ain't nobody want their kids to go to School 6; it was that bad. But it was where we lived. If you grow up in a bad area, there are bad things around it.

My parents were not affluent people and were not - didn't come from the extremities of education. My mother had a high school diploma. I often think I so wish she'd come out of the hills in Appalachia and been able to go on to college. I think she would have made a wonderful teacher.

I didn't really want to be a filmmaker, growing up. Other than Spike Lee's movies, I would think, 'Where is a place for me?' We were so damn poor that it just seemed too far beyond.

I was fortunate enough to make it to where I want to be. There could be other kids as talented or more talented than me in whatever they want to be but don't have the resources to pursue their dream. Maybe they have to get a job instead to help their mom with the bills.

Don't slip into the traps, and don't forget about your 'hood, the kids in the 'hood. Remember, you're disposable, so take advantage while you can.

In southern Italy, where my grandparents had lived, there were few opportunities. The society was static, with rigid social classes. Poor people, like my grandparents, had little chance to improve their lives, no matter their talents or willingness to work.

Although he was a brilliant businessman, in my mind, Dick Spangler will best be remembered in our state for his commitment to education and what it means for lifting individuals out of poverty, giving them a path for learning, and expressing their individuality.

When you give kids the tools necessary to change their destiny, it's really empowering.

I was lucky enough to be exposed to film, art, literature, culture, and then told, 'Yes, you can do that, too.' It's not something that everybody's circumstances allow for.

For generations, Canada has been built by hard-working people who want to make sure their kids have a better life than they did.

'Speechless' is first and foremost a show about a family that doesn't have a ton of money, but they move into a really crappy house in a really nice neighborhood so their kids can go to a nice school.

Our belief is that aspirations, meritocracy, and a world class institution are the three ingredients our country needs.

When I left Stockton and went to Stanford, I felt I hit the lotto. I did not think I was coming back.

I grew up in low-income areas and I've seen people take negative energy and just accept it. They give into and end up living a pretty rough life. At a young age, I just knew I wasn't going to give in because I didn't want to end up being one of those people in the neighborhood that didn't have anything and lived a hard life.

Poverty will not be allowed to become a wall in the way of education.

The public schools in our neighborhood were so bad that the teachers in the school said you shouldn't send your kids here. My mother called around and found a school that was willing to give both me and my brother scholarship money. It's a classic story about black parents wanting more for their kids than they had for themselves.

Where I'm from, there ain't a lot of other options, you know what I'm saying? Entertainment or football or crime. I don't want to spread the message that all you can do is music or sport. You can be anything. Anything. That's the message I like to spread.

As a child, I have seen what poverty is, and I try, to the best of my limits, to ensure that no kid should be deprived of his ambitions.

Growing up in America, even in the rougher parts of Elizabeth, I had two nice playgrounds to choose from as a child.

I think if a youngster leaves school unable to read you're kind of condemning them to a life of poverty and a life of lack of potential.

The promise of American opportunity and prosperity means something different to each of us. What we each envision varies in terms of wants and needs, and aspirations can change over time. But we all want to see our children have more opportunities than we had.

I had never gone to college. I was not from a politically connected family. I had no money of my own. Who is going to do business with you?

Few escape our most deprived estates. Few young people with potential escape difficult upbringings. Fewer cross the social divides.

I love Coney Island. I saw all different kinds of people - Russian, Italian, black, Puerto Rican, rich people in Sea Gate and in the co-ops. You'd see people in the co-ops or in the houses, and it was like, Man, I wish I could have this. I wish my mother and father could buy me this. Me being an independent thinker, I was like, I'm gonna get that.