The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in risking your life for a cause anchored in some distant political arena.
Walter Dean MyersRead
As a kid I didn't see black cowboys on the screen. What that said to me was that there were things I couldn't do or be because of my color. What we see others like us do gives us permission to expand our own horizons.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Representation in media shapes our beliefs about what we can achieve.
Walter Dean Myers highlights the importance of representation in media, particularly how the absence of black cowboys in film led him to believe that there were limits to what he could achieve based on his race. The idea is that seeing people who look like us in various roles can empower and inspire us to broaden our own ambitions and possibilities.
Themes
RepresentationInspirationMediaIdentityAmbition
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a panel discussion on diversity in media.
More from Walter Dean Myers
All quotes βI remember one time being told I could not play in a basketball game at the College of William and Mary because I was black, even though I was playing with a United States Army team.
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As a writer, I absorb stories, allow them to churn within my own head and heart - often for years - until I find a way of telling them that fits both my time and temperament.
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We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country is dependent on the participation of all of our citizens.
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Yeah, that's funny, huh?...Something hurts you real bad and you get used to it. Like being hurt becomes part of who you are.
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Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?
Walter Dean MyersRead
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