“Fine, I’ll do it,” said every black woman who has ever felt the need to step up to the occasion for the lack of everyone else’s effort.

As women, we work tirelessly to build up those around us — our men, our children, our families, our peers. But who works to build us up? Who keeps us grounded while we try to uplift everyone else?

Time and time again, black women have proven to the world that we are the glue that holds it all together. That we are the providers of discipline and delight. That we are the voice of reason when the rest of the world commits treason and turns their backs on our black and brown counterparts.

Black women empower other women. Black women set trends that raise the bar of coolness. Black women are the think tanks behind some of the world’s most powerful revolutions and have no shame of being at the forefront.

The Black Power Movement would encourage us to take pride in our blackness from head to toe and mind, body and soul. Artists, novelists, poets and public speakers alike would eloquently piece together the visuals and lyrics of our struggle and our triumph. A revolution would transpire when our country seemed to have forgotten our significance, causing three black feminists to create the Black Lives Matter movement.

In the midst of it all, we’ve been able to find serenity in the gift that keeps on giving: self-empowerment. We know our value. We know our worth. We know our purpose. Our predecessors paved the way for us to live unapologetically in our paths and create the narrative for our journeys that would help us recognize the greatness within ourselves.

To jump start your own self-empowerment journey, here are 14 quotes from famous black women; whether they may be revolutionaries, entertainment figures, or artists, they’ve all lead us into a movement that will inspire the masses as we profess our magic. Let their words inspire your personal journey for bringing out your inner leader.

This article was written by Simone and originally published on Blavity.

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