Courtney Cross-Johnson · Follow
5 min read · Feb 2, 2021
Happy Black History Month, family!
It’s officially February (which I cannot even fathom because that means we’ve been in this mess for almost a year…but anyway…) and time to celebrate. Yes, Black history should be celebrated each and every day and I think y’all know by now that I ride for Black businesses and people all year, but during this month we add a lil’ bit of extra seasoning. Considering I’m obsessed with cajun food, adding some extra seasoning doesn’t hurt.
I wanted to be intentional with starting the month off with some positive vibes because last week’s full moon energy had me going crazy (true story). As I began to curate this collection of quotes, I found it to be therapeutic. There is so much foolery happening around us during this pan dulce and I have found myself retreating inward more than I normally do. However, reading these quotes gave me hope and drive. It is my hope that you also find one or a few that jump out to you and you hold onto them. Tweet it, write it down, or put it on your mirror. I write this in love and say “thank you” to the brilliance of our ancestors, legends, and people as a whole.
Happy reading!
“I am dripping in melanin and honey. I am Black without apology.”
— Upile Chisala
“The black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.”
— Marcus Garvey
“I find, in being Black, a thing of beauty: a joy a strength a secret cup of gladness.”
— Ossie Davis
“Own your magic, walk in your purpose, and rock your truth.”
— Beverly Bond
“Choosing yourself is a revolutionary act of integrity.”
— Jennifer Arnise
“We are powerful because we have survived, and that is what it is all about- survival and growth.”
— Audre Lorde
“Just don’t give up what you’re trying to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
— Ella Fitzgerald
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
— Nelson Mandela
“these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips”
— Lucille Clifton
“Whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free . . . your true self comes out.”
— Tina Turner
“Have a vision. Be demanding.”
— Colin Powell
“Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail.”
— Ruby Bridges
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. ”
— Dr. Mae Jemison
“Your life is already artful- waiting, just waiting, for you to make it art.”
— Toni Morrison
“We must never forget that Black History is American History. The achievements of African Americans have contributed to our nation’s greatness.”
— Yvette Clark
“It is extremely rough to follow through with my goals, but I felt a responsibility to show the world what the African Americans are facing through this rough patch.”
— Ida B. Wells
“Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.”
— Maya Angelou
“The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are. Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.”
— Cicely Tyson
“If my future were determined just by my performance on a standardized test, I wouldn’t be here. I guarantee you that.”
— Michelle Obama
“Wanna fly, you got to give up the s — — that weighs you down.”
— Toni Morrison
“I don’t like to lose — at anything… Yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God’s reward, then losing is how he teaches us.”
— Serena Williams
“Be a girl with a mind, a b**ch with an attitude, a lady with class.”
— Rihanna
“For I am my mother’s daughter, and the drums of Africa still beat in my heart.”
— Mary McLeod Bethune
“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
— Shirley Chisholm
“What you know means something. What you do means something. Your name means something.”
— Audria Richmond
“I’m a black American, I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am. I have a lot of pride and dignity.”
— Michael Jackson
“I am a strong black woman that deserve all the good things coming my way.”
— liveandearncanada.com
“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
— Madam CJ Walker
“What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have.”
— Oprah Winfrey
“I’ve learned in life that what you give to others is what provides the most value to your life. There I was, a mess myself, yet I still had something to offer that would have an effect on another person’s world.”
— Jenifer Lewis
“You are where you are today because you stand on somebody’s shoulders. And wherever you are heading, you cannot get there by yourself. If you stand on the shoulders of others, you have a reciprocal responsibility to live your life so that others may stand on your shoulders. It’s the quid pro quo of life. We exist temporarily through what we take, but we live forever through what we give”
— Vernon Jordan
“I looked up the road I was going and back the way I come, and since I wasn’t satisfied, I decided to step off the road and cut me a new path.”
— Maya Angelou
“…he told her, ‘Don’t ever become small,’ and she said, ‘I never could.’”
— Roxane Gay
“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.”
— bell hooks
“You can fall, but you can rise also.”
— Angelique Kidjo
