Janelle Monae Quotes

When I could choose which national team to play for, I could choose between Luxembourg, France, and Bosnia, and I chose Bosnia because I felt it was important to demonstrate, especially to the young people, that a dream can become true.

I hope that there's a little black boy somewhere in Montana that never thought that he would see a reflection of himself, and he turns on the television, like, 'Oh my God, thank you.'

My mission is to let black kids know that their dreams can happen.

I've been very lucky to work on a wide variety of projects, including two long-run and top-10 dramatic television shows. That is why it is so important to offer a helping hand to the next generation of young Latinos coming up behind me.

As an African American actress, there are people who have been staples in my life that opened a door that I can walk through. I hope that I can have that impact.

The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.

The challenge facing America in the next century will be the shaping, at long last, of a truly common public culture, one responsive to the long silenced cultures of color.

I learned about poise and dignity, and I learned about what it means to be an African-American in television and what that requires in terms of what kind of position you take for yourself and how you define your own reality in a world that is still finding its footing, to say the least.

The president of CBS handpicked me for the 'Star Search' revival, which Arsenio Hall hosted. He picked 12 comics, and I was the only female. I always look to that as inspiration.

Growing up, I'd watch 'The Cosby Show' and 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air;' I'd look at the little brown girls and be inspired by them.

I'm working to create a space where it feels easy to include and imagine black girls and make black girls like me the main characters of our lives.

I think it's important for youngsters from all walks of life to have some sort of representative that they can look up to and aspire to be and let them know there's a chance for anybody from any background.

If you have a march that's entirely white women or a march that maybe is entirely black women, it's going inspire those who look like them, which is fine. Our idea is that we want to inspire as diverse of a group of people as possible.

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.

My grandmother probably never thought she would see a day where, you know, a young black woman would be seen as a leader, which is incredible.

I don't see it as pressure at all. I see it as such an honor to just in some sort of way represent Puerto Rico and Hispanics and all the girls out there.

I've not just played for England. I've done it for all the black players out there - to prove that they can do it.

We need to see examples of empowerment, because when we see that... it seems like that's the norm.

What's important about my election into the CEO role at Deloitte is to provide a role model for the next generation of diverse leaders at Deloitte.

I embrace my darker skin - always have, always will. In addition, I believe black women have always been trailblazers and trendsetters. Acknowledgement or not, we are and always have been beautiful.

My African-American friends thought it was cool that I was racing. It's not like we had any role models out there to look up to, so everyone understood I was doing something very different.

Given that everyone's got a voice, it's the age of the democratisation of information through digital technology. That means women can rise up, and people of colour can rise up, and these stories are much more present to us. And that's great.

These superhero movies are starting to give more love to not only black characters but also to more female characters, which is necessary because you have boys and girls of all colors who are looking at these superheroes saying, 'I want to be that. I want to look like that. Show me somebody that I can automatically connect with.'

Representing young black girls and giving them hope and the light and letting them know that they can do anything is important to me as a little black girl, too.

The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That's what we're all fighting for.