Latest Amandla Stenberg Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• The state of the world terrifies me. It feels more powerful personally to fight it through larger actions as opposed to trying to fight the Trump administration itself. It's sort of self-preservation for my mental health. If I spend too much of my energy and my brain on Trump, I'd lose my mind.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Powerful, Fighting, Mind

  Source: www.mtv.com

• I actually try not to go on my phone too much. That's something that's been a huge self-care move for me. I got rid of my iPhone, and so I'm actively working toward trying to be more present and not feeling uncomfortable when I don't have it as a coping mechanism.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Moving, Feelings, Trying

  Source: www.mtv.com

• People assume that because I'm a celebrity and have this platform that I always know what I'm talking about. I guess I don't always know what I'm talking about because I'm a kid who's trying to figure it out amid all the chaos of the world at large, and also the chaos of having this voice and responsibility. At the same time, this voice and responsibility has been the biggest blessing because I'm able to create change just by posting something on Instagram. That's really amazing. I can't believe that I get to have that megaphone and I get to decide how to use it.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Believe, Responsibility, Kids

  Source: www.mtv.com

• It's hard to find black roles that are just whimsical and fun and colorful. And I think, in many ways, that can be just as powerful in making commentary about race through movies.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Fun, Powerful, Thinking

  Source: www.mtv.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Black, Black Women

  Source: www.mtv.com

• Growing up, I didn't receive the representation that I wanted so badly. I was always looking out for black characters - black women - that were specifically just about existing and weren't necessarily racialized or were centered around race.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Growing Up, Character, Black

  Source: www.mtv.com

• I do think that my generation is really smart and wants to have political conversations, and so I hope that we can continue spreading our ideas and being able to change how our systems work. So, I guess being an all-American to me is being someone who questions things.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Smart, Thinking, Political

  Source: www.glamour.com

• Just when you look around and you see people with straight hair in media, you kind of feel the need to fit in, so it's kind of a constant battle loving my hair. It's something that I'm continuously working on.

  Amandla Stenberg

  People, Battle, Kind

  Source: www.glamour.com

• I think one of the core ideas in America has always been conversation and being able to question our systems of government, and being able to dictate our own communities and how we want this country to work. And I feel like we're losing part of that because of the way that even our current political campaign is centered more around celebrity than anything else, and so we're kind of losing conversation. We're still having conversations, but they seem to be more about like Donald Trump's hair and like memes of his face more than anything else.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Country, Thinking, Community

  Source: www.glamour.com

• The internet has allowed me to just be authentically myself, as opposed to having to perpetuate a certain image, and so I'm lucky that I don't have to fit into a certain box.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Lucky, Internet, Fit

  Source: www.glamour.com

• I think that can also be the downfall at the same time in what's really difficult about being kind of in the public eye, you have so much exposure through the Internet, and you can receive a lot of comments, and you get kind of immediate gratification, but also immediate response from people that can either be negative or positive. But I'm really thankful for the internet because it's allowed me to connect with people so much more easily.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Eye, Thinking, People

  Source: www.glamour.com

• I have so many mentors. I'm really lucky to be surrounded by incredible mentors, whether it be Solange Knowles or Gloria Steinem or Ava DuVernay, there are so many awesome people in my life, and so I'm lucky for them to kind of have fostered my identity as I grow into myself.

  Amandla Stenberg

  People, Mentor, Identity

  Source: www.glamour.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Beautiful, Fashion, Makeup

  Source: www.glamour.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Makeup, Thinking, Giving

  Source: www.glamour.com

• My conception around being a woman in 2016 has definitely been shifting over the past year, because I feel like I'm proud of womanhood, and I feel attached to it, and at the same time I'm someone who doesn't believe in having a gender binary, and so often times I separate those two concepts in my mind - the concept of being a woman and the concept of being a girl or being female, being kind of attached to a certain gender identity.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Girl, Believe, Past

  Source: www.glamour.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Real, Mean, Creative

  Source: www.glamour.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Beautiful, Girl, Smart

  Source: www.ebony.com

• My hope is to see people of color in roles that do not emphasize race. Often times when movies are centered around people of color, they are movies where the storyline is based on some racial component. I want to see movies where people of color play more interesting, nuanced characters.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Character, People, Interesting

  Source: www.ebony.com

• 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.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Kids, Important, Age

  Source: www.ebony.com

• I think there's this great disconnect between youth culture and politics, which is a product of how our capitalist system works. I mean, a lot of the kids I know are really politically involved. They really care about politics. I think we're going to have an incredible impact on how politics end up shaking this country.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Country, Mean, Kids

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

• I hope one day it's not revolutionary just to be yourself, but I think that the work that's being done around identity and personhood is so important.I feel inspired by people around me who are part of this movement as well: Hari Nef and Rowan Blanchard and Willow Smith and these kids who are really not going to listen to anyone. "I'm just going to say whatever I feel. I'm going to be myself. And if you don't like it, then, you can go screw yourself."

  Amandla Stenberg

  Being Yourself, Kids, Thinking

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

• I oftentimes receive the question, "What do you think is the most important social issue to focus on?" Or, "What's the most important component of identity? Is it gay rights or race or feminism?" And I'm like, "Well, they're all intertwined. It's all one conversation at the end of the day. You can't just pick one." I mean, people experience all kinds of prejudice because of all different parts of themselves. And that doesn't make one part more important than the other.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Mean, Gay, Thinking

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

• I'm realizing that the people who criticize what I'm doing, their intentions and comments are not actually real.There's nothing happening in the real world outside of whatever they're writing on the internet. Whereas for the people who feel inspired by what I'm doing, there's something so concrete and powerful in what's happening when they feel empowered. There's actually some kind of growth or self-acceptance, some kind of self-love that's actually being triggered, hopefully. And that's real.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Powerful, Real, Writing

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

• I do definitely get boxed into this #BlackGirlMagic social activist category. But it makes me think, "Well, maybe people are able to start thinking about that concept earlier and will hopefully be inspired to delve deeper into it and research it more." I think that's just how the media works. It's just very good at compartmentalizing human beings.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Thinking, People, Inspired

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

• I don't really see myself that way, as some typical sexy young ingénue. I've never been that way. And, for a while, there was a disconnect between who I am and how I present myself on a public platform. That was because I didn't necessarily feel comfortable sharing that much of myself with other people who I didn't know.

  Amandla Stenberg

  Sexy, People

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com