Amandla Stenberg
I love all kinds of art. I mean, I love sketching and acting and music.Collection: Music
There's so much power in allegory, to form ideas and learn lessons that you can actually take and apply to real life. I think that's why I originally really loved fantasy and reading.Collection: Power
My mom reminds me that all things are possible.Collection: Mom
People are getting tired of the same material; they want to see black girls as leads in movies. And I happen to be lucky enough to understand that - and be able to grab that opportunity and run with it.Collection: Movies
Me talking about political issues on a social platform was kind of an accident. It's something that's a part of my everyday - it's super central to who I am as a person.
I'm a huge fan of Toni Morrison. I just think she's so incredible. And also Nayyirah Waheed, who's a poet.
I'm really passionate about representation in film. I feel like the world is dominated by such a small group of human beings. There are so many different kinds of people that aren't represented, that don't have characters who look like them.
I come from a very musical family. My dad taught me to play guitar. I play violin and drums as well. Violin, I started in elementary school. Drums actually came when I was in a program called 'Rock Star,' which was really awesome. We were doing a song by the Ramones, so I thought, 'Why not play the drums?'
It's so important to create roles and characters and projects that feature black people in a way that's not specifically targeted towards the niche market, which is, like, a black movie is created, and it's produced and pitched so that only black people will watch it.
I know when I used to chemically straighten mine, I did it because I wasn't comfortable with my natural hair. I thought it was too poofy, too kinky. So for me, personally, when I started wearing it natural, it felt like I was blossoming because I was letting go of all the dead hair and all the parts of me that had rejected my natural state.
I think that, as a black girl, you grow up internalizing all these messages that say you shouldn't accept your hair or your skin tone or your natural features or that you shouldn't have a voice or that you aren't smart.
I hope people online understand that the celebrity culture we've created is not really real. So when they're speaking to and about me, I'm a person, so I'm going to make mistakes. It's inevitable because I'm human.
You don't have to force your career to happen all at once.
I'm just someone who cannot fake it. I can only do something with my full heart invested or just not do it at all.
I've read the 'Mortal Instruments' series; I was obsessed with those.
'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith is one of my favorites. Even though it doesn't have any monsters or crazy fantasy in it, it's such a raw story, and I can really relate to the characters. I think it's a beautiful story.
I think 'The Hunger Games' has a really powerful message about survival, and sacrificing for the ones you love. It's almost like a warning for us to not lose touch of our humanity. We live in a world in which we watch other's misfortunes for entertainment.
As a fan of the books, I feel fortunate to be part of 'The Hunger Games' family. It was an amazing experience; I am proud of the film and my performance. I want to thank all of my fans and the entire 'Hunger Games' community for their support and loyalty.
Within months after reading the novel 'The Hunger Games,' I went from telling my mom that I could see myself as this character to actually getting the role. My mother reminds me that if I could manifest such an important role just because I wanted it so much, all of my dreams are possible.
My sexuality's very fluid, and my gender is very fluid.
I don't think gender even exists.
I don't think of myself as statically a girl.
I often find myself in situations where I am the token black person. It can feel like this enormous weight.
Growing up, I was always super into fantasy and 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Game of Thrones' and all of that, but I could never find black characters whom I really liked.
I knew when I was about 14 that I wanted to be a director and that I wanted to go to NYU for film school.
Everyone experiences different parts of themselves at different times, these different parts of themselves that come out in different settings.
I think something that's really important to me is trying to do what I can from my position of power that comes with having a social media platform to dismantle certain systems that I think are really gross and harmful.
I'm lucky because the most dangerous thing that could happen to me is that someone will say something mean on a computer screen miles away, and so I feel like if that's all that I'm facing, then why would I not use my platform to talk about things?
One of the most challenging things for me to do was to walk away from 'Black Panther.'
As I started to explore my gender identity, I didn't know how I could claim the title of 'feminist' without subscribing to the gender binary. I thought I had to be a proud woman to be a feminist. Then I came to the realization that I can be proud of women without necessarily identifying as one.
I really love my hair. I really embrace it, and I'm so glad that I made the decision to wear it natural.
I'm someone who is inspired by people who've spoken out about different racial and gender issues.
It's a tiny revolution to express yourself fully and be who you want to be, especially when systems tell you that you can't. I've realized how powerful it is for me to just discuss issues with young people and begin conversations.Collection: Powerful
I think people discredit teenagers and how wise they can be. Sometimes I meet teenagers who are much wiser than many adults I've met, because they haven't let any insecurities or doubts about themselves get in the way of their thoughts.Collection: Wise
Black Girl Magic is a radiant revolution against misogynoir - misogyny directed towards Black women and internalized hatred. Black women are subject to so many societal messages that tell them they are not beautiful, smart, or capable. Black Girl Magic is the conscious unraveling of those toxic concepts through self-love and acceptance. It preaches that despite the pressures I face, I glow more than ever before.Collection: Beautiful
It's easier to say, 'Don't care about what anyone thinks,' than it is to actually not care about what anyone thinks. But, honestly, anything you're passionate about, that's what you'll be the best at.Collection: Thinking
The most important lesson I've learned is to not limit myself. Kids at my age often get intimidated by the idea of adulthood and feel like they have to know exactly who they are and what they want to do with their lives. I've realized that it's okay to take my time figuring it out and exploring different aspects of myself instead of fixating on one idea of who I am.Collection: Kids
What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?Collection: America
I think part of growing up is not actually finding a fixed idea of who you are, but rather being like, "Oh, wait. I'm different all the time. I'm going to change every second and grow and be fluid." And that's okay.Collection: Growing Up
When you are a marginalized person or a woman of color and/or someone who's a part of the LGBTQ community, your acts become politicized, just by being yourself. Because we're not completely accepting of all different kinds of human beings. By being myself, I'm doing something political.Collection: Being Yourself
If you work hard, it will pay off.Collection: Hard Work
Don't denounce our pain as savage. What's savage is the cruel inhumanity and brutality of the police. Condemn that.Collection: Pain
Whenever black women have a point, they're characterized as angry black women, and therefore the thing they're talking about is no longer of importance because they have to deal with them being overly emotional or something. I recognize that people who respond negatively to what I have to say aren't at a place yet where they are able to learn ... And it's exactly what I'm trying to fight.Collection: Fighting
I want to be fulfilled creatively as an actress and get to be in roles that are meaningful and impactful. I hope the same thing for myself as a director, one day. I want to make things that have an impact on how we look at the world.Collection: Meaningful
The thing that makes makeup or clothing or fashion beautiful is the fact that the person wearing them loves themselves and loves being able to kind of use them as artistic tools. And so if I was to give one piece of advice, it would be to find beauty in your core first before you go out into the world and find it in other ways.Collection: Beautiful
I think the best piece of advice that I would give is beauty is really just - I know it sounds cheesy - being true to who you are. Beauty is not something that is acquired necessarily through like makeup or clothing.Collection: Makeup
I'd say my relation to being a woman is, I mean being a woman is whatever you want because the concept of gender is not really real, you know? And so for me it's about being comfortable in myself. It's about allowing myself to express who I am in any way that I want to, whether that be through my clothing, the way I present myself to the world, whether that be through like my gender identity and my pronouns. It's just really about allowing yourself to really be expressive and creative.Collection: Real
When we're growing up and being teenagers, oftentimes you try so hard to define yourself. You try to create an image of yourself because you don't really know who you are yet. And that can be kind of limiting because you forget that there are actually so many different sides of identity. And it's important to recognize that everyone is completely different.Collection: Growing Up
My hope as an actress is knowing that I'm someone who is more privileged - I'm biracial and lighter-skinned - and I hope it can open up the door for more women of color, especially darker-skinned black women. I hope everyone hops on the bandwagon and decides to start putting women of color in movies that aren't just about race.Collection: Black
But here’s the thing: Appropriation occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated, but is deemed as high fashion, cool, or funny when the privileged take it for themselves. Appropriation occurs when the appropriator is not aware of the deep significance of the culture that they are partaking in.Collection: Fashion