My ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me.
Interpretation
Ambitions are often shaped by the support and encouragement we receive from our communities.
In this quote, Michael Eric Dyson emphasizes that ambitions do not arise in isolation; instead, they are cultivated by the influences and support systems provided by the community around us. This highlights the importance of social connections and environments that foster personal growth and aspirations, suggesting that our goals and dreams are often reflections of the collective encouragement we receive throughout our lives.
In practice
Use this quote during a motivational speech about the importance of community support in achieving one's goals.
Hip hop scholarship must strive to reflect the form it interrogates, offering the same features as the best hip hop: seductive rhythms, throbbing beats, intelligent lyrics, soulful samples, and a sense of joy that is never exhausted in one sitting.
Oprah Winfrey represents the most ingenious and creative expression of black spiritual genius in the public mainstream that we've had in quite a long time, if ever.
When Dr. King was murdered, I had no idea who he was. But as soon as I heard his words on television that night when I was 9 years old, I was dumbstruck, awestruck by their power.
I grew up in Detroit. I was a teen father. I lived on welfare for three years. I have a brother serving life in prison, though I believe he's innocent.
George Bush ran a campaign where he bragged about being an anti-intellectual, dismissing his Harvard and Yale pedigree, pretending he was an American every day, ordinary everyman, and as a result of that, played up his fumbling speech because it signified that he was a good guy. That is deeply and profoundly anti-intellectual.
Charity is no substitute for justice. If we never challenge a social order that allows some to accumulate wealth--even if they decide to help the less fortunate--while others are short-changed, then even acts of kindness end up supporting unjust arrangements. We must never ignore the injustices that make charity necessary, or the inequalities that make it possible.
By the time I was 22, I was a professional. A young and flawed professional, but not an amateur.
Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.
Successful charitable fund-raising has much in common with managing a business: It requires leadership, persistence, and creativity.
Would I swap what I have achieved as a cook if I could have been as successful as a footballer? Definitely.
Victory was to be bought so dear as to be almost indistinguishable from defeat.
I'm no longer dependent on the movie business to make a living. So if I want to make movies as other old guys would play golf, I can.
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