Why can't black women on stage tell stories that can affect white men in the audience?
Danai GuriraRead
I'm not only a person of color, I'm also a woman. And I'm not only a woman, I'm also a woman from the Third World. All those elements put together means I have a lot to do.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the intersectionality of identity and the responsibilities that come with it.
Danai Gurira's quote highlights the complexities of identity, particularly as a woman of color from the Third World. By acknowledging these multiple layers of her identity, she underscores the unique challenges and responsibilities associated with advocating for change and representation in society.
In practice
This quote can be used during a panel discussion on diversity in leadership roles.
Why can't black women on stage tell stories that can affect white men in the audience?
I want to see women of African descent shine.
There’s a saying in Africa, if you give a woman empowerment, you empower a community, you empower men, you empower man. When women become empowered and live in their strength it’s beneficiary to others, and I think as young women today we sometimes forget that we are standing on the struggle of other women. Those women had to stand up to make a change, and they were not popular, and now we’re making them unpopular again.
I work with writers whom I believe to be true storytellers. And because I'm a writer, I pay very keen attention to their vision. I find that so fueling creatively because, in telling those stories, you use everything you've got. You come away with battle scars. It's gratifying and invigorating.
I often feel like a nutty professor, like I'm going to try this experiment and see if it works. My hypothesis is, people in the West can absorb African women stories without any shaken or stirred mixer. It can come directly from the source.
'Me too' was just two words; it's two magic words that galvanised the world.
Black Lives Matter is one iteration of a much larger struggle to fight for black people's freedom.
Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong in their seeds. Simply, society never gave them the base to grow on. All it needs to get the poor people out of poverty for us to create an enabling environment for them. Once the poor can unleash their energy and creativity, poverty will disappear very quickly.
Never put a question mark where God has put a period. When something is over and done, let it go and move on to the next chapter of your life.
It is high time to compel man by the might of right to give woman her political, legal and social rights. She will find her own sphere in accordance with her capacities, powers and tastes; and yet she will be woman still.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
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