Community Reflection Quotes

I was raised in Harlem. I never found a book that took place in Harlem. I never had a church like mine in a book. I never had people like the people I knew. People who could not find their lives in books and celebrated felt bad about themselves. I needed to write to include the lives of these young people.

What thoughts are to the individual, art is to the community as a whole. That's where you reflect on who you are, who you hope to be, what you've gone through, and where you hope to go.

I don't profess to be a political rapper, like groups such as 'Dead Prez' or 'Public Enemy', but I think social commentary should make its way into your music. Speaking on your neighbourhood is social commentary - what happens, what's going on.

It's 103 comedians, or however many it is, and how would everyone tell it. It's enough people of substance that it makes you think of the people who aren't there that are alive.

A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.

Columbia Heights was a poor, messed up area, and the church was in the middle of it. What happened inside was a reflection of the community. I actually saw my first rock concert on the altar of that church [St. Stephen's].

We had a cop or two that were questionable, and probably they shouldn't have been on the job, but they were. You have that: a police department reflects the community that it serves, and it's going to have a bad apple or two, but when those bad apples are discovered, they need to be discarded as quickly as possible so the whole bureau doesn't rot.

We cannot discuss the state of our minorities until we first have a sense of what we are, who we are, what our goals are, and what we take life to be.

There were so few examples of Asian or Asian-American lead characters on American TV or even in the movies. And the ones that have existed for so long were either stereotypical or offensive in some way, or just not reflective of the lives of people in the community.

Whatever happened in the neighborhood. That's what I was rapping about. And that sparked people's interest. And that's what kind of put me on that path.

I think the Apollo has always been the people's performing arts center and reflected the community, whether it is Stevie Wonder or Tito Puente.

I want our police officers to have the resources and training they need to investigate hate crime fully, and to ensure we have neighborhood police teams that understand and reflect the communities they serve.

While we have come a long way, we must go further if we are to ensure greater diversity and truly modern police forces that reflect the communities they serve and provide police officers able to tackle not only traditional crime but also the changing face of crime.