Written By: Girl Tyler

By 20 Badass Black Women

Black women continue to carry a torch of excellence with grace and determination. Our ancestors stitched the fabric of America influencing generations to come. From politics to astronomy to education and medicine, we beat the odds and defy opposition. Just because we carry it well, doesn’t mean that the load isn’t heavy. As you journey along your individual path, there will be speed bumps and detours along the way. Stay the course and look to other women for encouragement. Anything is possible with determined women at your side. In honor of Women’s History Month, aim higher and stay motivated with words of wisdom from 20 dynamic women who exemplify greatness.

1. “Don't be afraid to feel as angry or loving as you can because when you feel nothing, it's just death.” - Lena Horne
2. “I have fallen in love with the imagination. And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere, and it can do anything." - Alice Walker
3. “I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.”- Nikki Giovanni
4. “It was when I realized I needed to stop trying to be somebody else and be myself, I actually started to own, accept and love what I had.”- Tracee Ellis Ross
5. “A wise woman wishes to be no one’s enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone’s victim.” - Maya Angelou
6. “The kind of beauty I want most is the hard-to-get kind that comes from within — strength, courage, dignity.” - Ruby Dee
7. “Anyone who claims to be a leader must speak like a leader. That means speaking with integrity and truth.” - Kamala Harris
8. “All which I feel I must write has become obsessive. So many truths seem to be rushing at me as the result of things felt and seen and lived through. Oh, what I think I must tell this world.” - Lorraine Hansberry
9. “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.”- Dr. Mae Jemison
10. “I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change...I’m changing the things I cannot accept.” - Angela Davis
11. “I love my body, and I would never change anything about it. I’m not asking you to like my body. I’m just asking you to let me be me.” - Serena Williams
12. “There will be times when you will face insurmountable obstacles, but that’s when you dig deep down within your soul for the courage and fortitude to keep going—and never forget that despite life’s detours, you are destined for greatness.” - Angela Bassett
13. “If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.”- Shirley Chisholm
14. “I don’t have any time to stay up all night worrying about what someone who doesn’t love me has to say about me.” - Viola Davis
15. “Did you know that the human voice is the only pure instrument? That it has notes no other instrument has? It’s like being between the keys of a piano.” - Nina Simone
16. “I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail.” - Sojourner Truth
17. “I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values and follow my own moral compass, then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.”- Michelle Obama
18. “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” - Zora Neale Hurston
19. “There's something so special about a woman who dominates in a man's world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” - Rihanna
20. “I’ve done my best.” - Cicely Tyson