--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a burning desire to see black…" description: "\"I had a burning desire to see black people presented on television in a positive light.\" — Don Cornelius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg" --- # I had a burning desire to see black people presented on… ![“I had a burning desire to see black people presented on television in a positive light.” quote by Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg) > “I had a burning desire to see black people presented on television in a positive light.” [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire to portray Black people positively on TV drives creative ambition. **In simple terms:** Wanting positive Black representation on TV fuels ambition. Key Takeaway Advocate for authentic, uplifting media representation. Themes media representation racial equity television culture activism Mood inspirational determined Type media cultural When to use this quote - content creation - casting decisions - public advocacy - educational programming Key Concepts social change media studies identity politics Questions to Reflect On - What stories best showcase positive Black experiences? - How can creators avoid tokenism? A Different Perspective Balancing representation with artistic freedom can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) [Burning desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning-desire/) ## Related quotes > [More Asians need to be on television as a positive role model.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-tom/more-asians-need-to-be-on-television-as-a-positive-role-model/) [Kiana Tom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-tom/) > [TV is a responsibility, not only in entertaining people, but using this medium of television in positive ways to teach people and enlighten people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-praagh/tv-is-a-responsibility-not-only-in-entertaining-people-but-using-this/) [James Van Praagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-praagh/) > [I'm a person who watches TV all the time - all the time; I love TV. And I really think that the media heavily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maysoon-zayid/i-m-a-person-who-watches-tv-all-the-time-all-the-time-i-love-tv-and-i/) [Maysoon Zayid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maysoon-zayid/) > [For me, it's that I contributed, ... That I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That's to me the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/for-me-it-s-that-i-contributed-that-i-m-on-this-planet-doing-some/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [When you in the positive light and good space, do everything to keep it that way and be real careful what you say and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tee-grizzley/when-you-in-the-positive-light-and-good-space-do-everything-to-keep/) [Tee Grizzley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tee-grizzley/) > [“I try to be a positive light in this cold dark world... if only with a few words from deep within my heart, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyki-mack/i-try-to-be-a-positive-light-in-this-cold-dark-world-if-only-with-a/) [Nyki Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyki-mack/) > [“positive light energy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vickers/positive-light-energy/) [Lee Vickers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-vickers/) > [I try to look at things in a positive light, but not everything ends up turning out positive or perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-abraham/i-try-to-look-at-things-in-a-positive-light-but-not-everything-ends/) [Farrah Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-abraham/) > [If you stick around long enough and you do enough of the right things, you get seen in a largely positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-o-driscoll/if-you-stick-around-long-enough-and-you-do-enough-of-the-right-things/) [Brian O'Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-o-driscoll/) > [I always see everything in a positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karishma-tanna/i-always-see-everything-in-a-positive-light/) [Karishma Tanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karishma-tanna/) > [It's well-known that people don't respond to scarce resources necessarily in what we might consider a positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-poynter/it-s-well-known-that-people-don-t-respond-to-scarce-resources/) [Jane Poynter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-poynter/) > [I always look at things in a positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-serra/i-always-look-at-things-in-a-positive-light/) [Matt Serra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-serra/) > [My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zendaya/my-wearing-my-hair-in-locs-on-an-oscar-red-carpet-was-to-showcase/) [Zendaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zendaya/) > [Turn your 'problems' into 'challenges' and you will suddenly see results in a more positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-sylver/turn-your-problems-into-challenges-and-you-will-suddenly-see-results/) [Marshall Sylver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-sylver/) > [If you want your country to do well as everyone says, bring a positive light to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheem-sterling/if-you-want-your-country-to-do-well-as-everyone-says-bring-a-positive/) [Raheem Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheem-sterling/) ## More by Don Cornelius > [I'm trying to use euphemisms here, trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-m-trying-to-use-euphemisms-here-trying-to-avoid-saying-there-was-no/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I dont know anybody who can define it. Its like trying to define hip-hop. You cant just call it black music. Maybe it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-dont-know-anybody-who-can-define-it-its-like-trying-to-define-hip/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I always felt a love for music, but I never got my nerve up enough to try a musical instrument in school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-always-felt-a-love-for-music-but-i-never-got-my-nerve-up-enough-to/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [One motivation for the 'Soul Train' awards was the grumbling that all of us in the industry have heard about the way black music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/one-motivation-for-the-soul-train-awards-was-the-grumbling-that-all/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [My father worked real hard. I admired him. My father taught me you needed to work with your brain and not your back. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/my-father-worked-real-hard-i-admired-him-my-father-taught-me-you/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I was never exposed to a great deal of racism, but the Chicago I grew up in was very, very segregated. If I went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-was-never-exposed-to-a-great-deal-of-racism-but-the-chicago-i-grew/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I felt that it was my mission to see to it that black talent had an opportunity to get national television exposure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-felt-that-it-was-my-mission-to-see-to-it-that-black-talent-had-an/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [Who's more important than Diana Ross?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/who-s-more-important-than-diana-ross/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for 'Soul Train.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-figured-as-long-as-the-music-stayed-hot-and-important-and-good-that/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [There was no match for Barry White. His music is just going to live forever. It's not limited to disco or soul or hip-hop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/there-was-no-match-for-barry-white-his-music-is-just-going-to-live/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [There were individuals at the time who were on the proverbial wish list, and before we had to wait too long, they decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/there-were-individuals-at-the-time-who-were-on-the-proverbial-wish/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [The 'Soul Train' legacy and brand are of the utmost importance to me and to 'Soul Train's' millions of fans. After years of offers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/the-soul-train-legacy-and-brand-are-of-the-utmost-importance-to-me/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [Soul Train' was developed as a radio show on television. It was the radio show that I always wanted and never had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/soul-train-was-developed-as-a-radio-show-on-television-it-was-the/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [I went crazy. I was sending angry letters to every newspaper editorial board in the country. It was designed to step on Soul Train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-went-crazy-i-was-sending-angry-letters-to-every-newspaper-editorial/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [A guy like me cant be doing 'love, peace and soul!' shtick for the rest of his life until people start to say whats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/a-guy-like-me-cant-be-doing-love-peace-and-soul-shtick-for-the-rest/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) [Explore all 47 Don Cornelius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) ## More Black people 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/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [We have to build our own power. 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/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Black Privilege is a concrete motive that black people benefit from, such as racism but racism on whites. Black people don't know it but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/black-privilege-is-a-concrete-motive-that-black-people-benefit-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Acknowledging that my skin was, in fact, Cocoa as it is, would have destroyed their narrative about who I really was. Therefore they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/acknowledging-that-my-skin-was-in-fact-cocoa-as-it-is-would-have/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Well of course there's been a great deal of progress over the last 40 years. We don't have laws that segregate black people within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-davis/well-of-course-there-s-been-a-great-deal-of-progress-over-the-last-40/) [Angela Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-davis/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/what-would-america-be-like-if-we-loved-black-people-as-much-as-we/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [“Any ministry to black people which is not designed to effect their empowerment is designed to perpetuate their enslavement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-ministry-to-black-people-which-is-not-designed-to-effect-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [Even during my youth, I can recall very few black people living on any kind of public assistance. People were working, doing some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-smith/even-during-my-youth-i-can-recall-very-few-black-people-living-on-any/) [Ed Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-smith/) > [There is no one American beauty or just one beautiful color in the pantheon, especially in regards to black people - there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latanya-richardson/there-is-no-one-american-beauty-or-just-one-beautiful-color-in-the/) [LaTanya Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latanya-richardson/) > [Saying women aren't funny is now like saying Asians can't drive or saying black people have bad credit. It's just really, like, so obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-cummings/saying-women-aren-t-funny-is-now-like-saying-asians-can-t-drive-or/) [Whitney Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-cummings/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) [Browse all 1,587 Black people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had a burning desire to see black people presented on television in a positive light.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don Cornelius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-people-presented-on-television-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-people-presented-on-television-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/don-cornelius-14201_black-people_i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-peop_2777438.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had a burning desire to see black people presented on television in a positive light.” — Don Cornelius", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Don Cornelius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had a burning desire to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-people-presented-on-television-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-had-a-burning-desire-to-see-black-people-presented-on-television-in/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```