Steven Seagal Quotes

Telling diverse stories is at the heart of our culture.

I think all Latino actors want to be storytellers first. I want to be an actor first, and then I want to be Latina.

The challenge facing America in the next century will be the shaping, at long last, of a truly common public culture, one responsive to the long silenced cultures of color.

I think the crux of this urgent and real conversation about representation and diversity in art-making and storytelling both behind and in front of the camera ultimately has to do with simply seeing more human perspectives.

I think as you have a more diverse group of people working in the industry, you automatically have more diverse storytelling. That's definitely to be celebrated for sure.

I think diversity has to happen on a storytelling level, not just on a casting level.

Audiences want great story telling; it's why white people watch my show 'Black in America.' It's why black people watch 'Latina in America.' All of that is statistically shown and proven but it was because it was good story telling about people who were outsiders.

America is grappling with cultural diversity, and I just want to put a show on that represents the world in which I live.

The lack of diversity, specifically in genre films and the superheroes our kids grow up watching and emulating, they can't really identify with. When you see the same thing, over and over again, and it seems not to speak of you and your heritage and your culture, it leaves you out of this world a little bit.

While books expand horizons by exposing us to worlds outside our own, children also need to see themselves, their experiences and their cultures reflected in books they read. Unfortunately, for too many children, this is not the norm.

I grew up watching cinema in my country that wasn't telling stories about us, and we had to find a way to connect, and our references, our role models had nothing to do with us. And I'm so glad that it's changing.

It's very important to me that people get to see themselves in stories. When someone tells me they've never seen themselves, I have a new goal.

In a nation growing increasingly more diverse, it is imperative that the organizations tasked with keeping us informed reflect the same diversity.

Diversity is essential to the success of the news industry, and journalists must include diverse voices in their coverage in order to reach a broader audience. We have stories to tell, but many in our audience have stopped listening because they can tell that we're not talking about them.

It's important to tell the story you're telling in the right way, which might involve black people or people of whatever heritage or ethnicity - or it might not.

I think diversity and multiculturalism on TV and on the screen is such a powerful thing. And to be honest, it's a very American thing.

I'm interested in Native American and African American stories, and LGBTQ stories and stories of persons of mixed heritage. These are the stories I want to see onscreen and on the pages.

If you want more diversity in the industry, you need diverse people writing scripts and developing them.

It's really empowering when you see yourself represented in entertainment and, especially, onstage when you're talking about how this country came to be.

I hope to see more Latino stories on television - not just on a personal level, but for us in the industry. We shouldn't just exist when a show is attempting to be diverse. We have good stories, and we are worth it.

Times are changing, and it's catching on that the roles on TV and film need to reflect its diverse viewers.

When you have filmmakers like Justin Simien, writers, producers, actresses like Lena Waithe, who are people of color, they're creating their own content and saying, 'You know what? We're not going to wait on someone else to tell our story. We're going to do it ourselves. You can be a part of it or not.'

I want to bring my color and background to the table because it makes life - and entertainment - more interesting.

It's interesting because diversity doesn't just happen by garnishing your omelet with a little bit of parsley. Diversity happens because the people that are telling the stories - the writers, directors, storytellers - want to tell their story.

It's not about just diversity; it's about authenticity. Audiences are really excited to see more of themselves on the screen.