Nationwide — Self-love is like physical therapy for the soul. Listen to these quotes from black women about self-love—they prove that struggle and hardship don’t impede self-love but are rather the means to understanding and accepting yourself.
2. “Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any one deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” – Zora Neale Hurston
3. “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced to them.” – Dr. Maya Angelou
4. “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Dr. Maya Angelou
5. “Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” – Alice Walker
6. “Trust yourself. Think for yourself. Act for yourself. Speak for yourself. Be yourself. Imitation is suicide.” – Marva Collins
7. “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” – Toni Morrison
8. “Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.” – Dorothy Height
9. “When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde
10. “Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change.” – Iyanla Vanzant
11. “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.” – Audre Lorde
12. “Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.” – Audre Lorde
13. “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go one and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.” – Mae Jemison
14. “Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine in yourself, so that you can hear it in others.” – Marian Wright Edelman
15. “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” – Lena Horne
