“I believe it is critical to initiate campaigns such as #WeSmileToo to break stereotypes. Men of color have been tagged with certain connotations due to generalizations of how society’s overt and covert beliefs have painted them.

With campaigns that actually help us break social constructs of who we are, as a community, and a new generation, we are able to educate and express ourselves in a light reflective of our actual personalities, positive characters while inspiring the youth to hope and believe in a society that notices the positive contributions of their ancestors.

American society has not always represented men of color in a positive manner in the media due to stereotypes of them being criminals, uneducated, unemployed and aggressive. This campaign challenges social constructs by positively educating society of our philosophies and characters.

Skin color should never define anyone. As a people and a society living in the 21st century, we owe it to ourselves to exercise kindness, respect, and appreciation for each other, and ‘live to love, not to judge.'”