March 8th is International Women’s Day, which means it’s time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women. As a Black woman, it has been crucial for me to have role models that I can connect with, that understand the intersectionality of my experience. So, here are some quotes from Black women who have made waves in history.
- “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
- Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author, anthropologist and filmmaker. She brought light to racial struggles in the early 1900s and published research on hoodoo.
- “Because of them I can now live the dream. I am the seed of the free, and I know it. I intend to bear great fruit.”
- Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was an American abolitionist and women’s rights activist. She was famed for her speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” delivered at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention.
- “In our culture we say ‘if you kill the lion, you see what the lioness will do.’”
- Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior
Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior is a South Sudanese politician and has served as one of the Vice Presidents of South Sudan.
- “I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy.”
- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician. She served in parliament and was a member of the African National Congress. She was the public face for her husband Nelson Mandela when he was imprisoned.
- “Do not call me female royal leader, I am your QUEEN. If it’s too hard, just call me King”.
- Queen Anna Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba
Queen Anna Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba served as queen of the Ambundu Kingdoms of Ndongo and Matamba (present-day northern Angola). She is recognized for fighting for independence of her Kingdoms from the Portuguese.
- “To be human is to seek perfection and find joy in never attaining it.”
- Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o is an academy award winning Kenyan-Mexican actress, most recognized for her roles in Twelve Years A Slave and Blank Panther. Outside of acting, she works to support historical preservation and women’s rights.
- “Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”
- Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison is an engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut. She is the first Black woman to travel to space and has a non-profit educational foundation.
- “Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also prepare that broken dignity.”
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer who is known for her successful African stories. She was recognized as one of BBC’s 100 women of 2021.
- “Know that you can start late, look different, be uncertain and still succeed.”
- Misty Copeland
Misty Copeland is an American ballet dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. She is the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in the company’s 75 years.
- “We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.”
- Marian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman is an American activist for civil and children’s rights. She founded the Children’s Defense Fund and participated in multiple protests as part of the Civil Rights Movement.
Every once in a while we come across words so powerful that they stay with us, partially because of the words, but also because of those that utter them. These 10 quotes are pieces of the important wisdom that these courageous and powerful women have shared. It’s important that we keep sharing them. I hope that after reading this you read more about these women; I also hope that they inspire you to craft words of your own.