--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I talk, it shouldn't just be black…" description: "\"When I talk, it shouldn't just be black girls listening.\" — Alek Wek" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/alek-wek-4037_black_when-i-talk-it-shouldn-t-just-be-black-g_824641.jpg" --- # When I talk, it shouldn't just be black girls listening. ![“When I talk, it shouldn't just be black girls listening.” quote by Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/alek-wek-4037_black_when-i-talk-it-shouldn-t-just-be-black-g_824641.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/alek-wek-4037_black_when-i-talk-it-shouldn-t-just-be-black-g_824641.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e9/alek-wek-4037_black_when-i-talk-it-shouldn-t-just-be-black-g_824641.jpg) > “When I talk, it shouldn't just be black girls listening.” [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes the need for diverse audiences and inclusive dialogue beyond a single demographic. **In simple terms:** Speak to all, not just one group. Key Takeaway Seek broader engagement. Themes inclusion representation dialogue Mood thoughtful inspirational Type social public speaking When to use this quote - public speaking - community events - media campaigns Key Concepts media studies social equity Questions to Reflect On - Who is missing from your conversation? - How can you broaden your reach? A Different Perspective May still face entrenched audience biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-girl/) ## Related quotes > [Black girls, I feel, rock, in so many ways, especially coming from five girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/black-girls-i-feel-rock-in-so-many-ways-especially-coming-from-five/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [There are tons of black girls modeling, and each one is special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/there-are-tons-of-black-girls-modeling-and-each-one-is-special/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [Dark frazes of woman hood of never having been a girl,half note scattered without rythm,no tune destroyed,laphter falling over a black girls shoulders...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/dark-frazes-of-woman-hood-of-never-having-been-a-girl-half-note/) Author Name > [We don't all have to take the same coordinates to get to the same destination. Being a young African American female artist, I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/we-don-t-all-have-to-take-the-same-coordinates-to-get-to-the-same/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I want young black girls to have more dancers to look up to. I want to be able to spread more poppies in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/i-want-young-black-girls-to-have-more-dancers-to-look-up-to-i-want-to/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [When I started Black Girls Code in 2011, there weren't any programs that had a foundation in communities of color to teach our kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-bryant/when-i-started-black-girls-code-in-2011-there-weren-t-any-programs/) [Kimberly Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-bryant/) > [“Black Girls create magic, so that makes me magical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/black-girls-create-magic-so-that-makes-me-magical/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) > [It was the desire to see black girls and our experiences in the books that I was given to read at school that forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marley-dias/it-was-the-desire-to-see-black-girls-and-our-experiences-in-the-books/) [Marley Dias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marley-dias/) > [Wow, I did so much for young black girls and girls around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-smith/wow-i-did-so-much-for-young-black-girls-and-girls-around-the-world/) [Willow Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-smith/) > [The great thing about Meg in 'A Wrinkle In Time' and Shuri in 'Black Panther' is that none of them are stereotypes of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-russell/the-great-thing-about-meg-in-a-wrinkle-in-time-and-shuri-in-black/) [Taylor Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-russell/) > [I really do hope 'The Hate U Give' provides mirrors for readers who don't often get them in books. I've had so many young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-thomas/i-really-do-hope-the-hate-u-give-provides-mirrors-for-readers-who-don/) [Angie Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-thomas/) > [I always want black girls to feel confident in who they are, and in their skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-runway/i-always-want-black-girls-to-feel-confident-in-who-they-are-and-in/) [Bree Runway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-runway/) > [“This Book is Dedicated to Black Girls Everywhere. You are Powerful. You are Beautiful. You are Loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-jos-older/this-book-is-dedicated-to-black-girls-everywhere-you-are-powerful-you/) [Daniel José Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-jos-older/) > [I wasn't seeing black girls in the books I was assigned to read at my school. I was tired of only reading about white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marley-dias/i-wasn-t-seeing-black-girls-in-the-books-i-was-assigned-to-read-at-my/) [Marley Dias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marley-dias/) > [“But beneath them all, at the very bottom of the stack, is a worn and slightly tattered magazine called African Mamas Sucking Hog. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus-iii/but-beneath-them-all-at-the-very-bottom-of-the-stack-is-a-worn-and/) [Andre Dubus III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus-iii/) ## More by Alek Wek > [I was working part-time as a cleaner while I was going to college and then babysitting after school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/i-was-working-part-time-as-a-cleaner-while-i-was-going-to-college-and/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [War tore my family apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/war-tore-my-family-apart/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [I wore hot pants and cowboy boots and I thought, 'What have I gotten myself into?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/i-wore-hot-pants-and-cowboy-boots-and-i-thought-what-have-i-gotten/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [I've seen mothers and children really being vulnerable in the refugee camps; it's supposed to be temporary, but they end up having children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/i-ve-seen-mothers-and-children-really-being-vulnerable-in-the-refugee/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [I used to have nightmares about the civil war when I got to England at ages 14 to 15. It took me some years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/i-used-to-have-nightmares-about-the-civil-war-when-i-got-to-england/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [My experience as a refugee had made me strong; I could survive anything, even the world of fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/my-experience-as-a-refugee-had-made-me-strong-i-could-survive/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [Leaving southern Sudan as a child was terrifying. It was 1985, and my family and I were trying to escape to Khartoum, the capital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/leaving-southern-sudan-as-a-child-was-terrifying-it-was-1985-and-my/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [Starting modeling in the '90s, it was quite surreal. They were like, 'You're so different! So weird! So bizarre!' And I'm like, 'I'm so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/starting-modeling-in-the-90s-it-was-quite-surreal-they-were-like-you/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [There's one thing we all share: We eat to nurture ourselves, to feel stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/there-s-one-thing-we-all-share-we-eat-to-nurture-ourselves-to-feel/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [Don't focus on negative things; focus on the positive, and you will flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/don-t-focus-on-negative-things-focus-on-the-positive-and-you-will/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [London is like my second home. I've still got friends there from school and from when I first started in the modelling business -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/london-is-like-my-second-home-i-ve-still-got-friends-there-from/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [I don't even know where to start in terms of people having such an issue about color, especially being dark. I just think on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/i-don-t-even-know-where-to-start-in-terms-of-people-having-such-an/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [There are mothers who sew for six months to make a fashion collection - someone's grandmother, someone's sister. We come in and get paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/there-are-mothers-who-sew-for-six-months-to-make-a-fashion-collection/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [Beauty is deeper than just what you look at in a picture. You could fancy what you like, but as a woman my mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/beauty-is-deeper-than-just-what-you-look-at-in-a-picture-you-could/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) > [We need to do everything we can to protect the health and welfare of children around the world, but fortunately, it's getting easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alek-wek/we-need-to-do-everything-we-can-to-protect-the-health-and-welfare-of/) [Alek Wek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) [Explore all 117 Alek Wek quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alek-wek/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. 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