I didn't want to be a big star. I wanted to be a really good actor.
Laurence FishburneRead
Things have become considerably better for men of colour since I was born. But I'd say that we'll be really getting somewhere when things get better for women of colour.
Interpretation
Progress for men of color is important, but true equality will be achieved when women of color also experience improvement.
Laurence Fishburne emphasizes the need for social progress to include not only men of color but also women of color. While there has been significant advancement for men of color, the ultimate measure of equality and justice will be when all marginalized groups, particularly women of color, see meaningful improvements in their lives.
In practice
In a speech at a community event discussing racial equality.
I didn't want to be a big star. I wanted to be a really good actor.
When we let cops talk about themselves as a separate community, then we are letting cops wall themselves off from the rest of us. We don't generally do that with any other jobs. We don't talk about the barista community or the Wal-Mart greeter community.
The gay rights movement is not a party. It is not a lifestyle. It is not a hair style. It is not a fad or a fringe or a sickness. It is not about sin or salvation. The gay rights movement is an integral part of the American promise of freedom.
The March on Washington was a March for Jobs and Freedom. There are still too many people who are unemployed or underemployed in America - they're black, white, Latino, Native American and Asian American.
When I worked as a prosecutor in Richmond, Virginia in the 1990s, that city, like so much of America, was experiencing horrific levels of violent crime. But to describe it that way obscures an important truth: for the most part, white people weren't dying; black people were dying. Most white people could drive around the problem.
The gifts of God should be enjoyed by all citizens in Mississippi.
I've always been bothered by systems that don't work for everybody. It doesn't mean we're all equal. I am not naive about that. But we should have a more inclusive society.
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