12 Black Writers on Beauty, Self-Love, and Liberation
As we celebrate the launch of Issue 6 Beauty, let’s reflect on these beauty and self love quotes by Black women writers. I hope these words will fill your cup and offer encouragement on difficult days. Feel free to bookmark this post to come back again when you need inspiration!
Audre Lorde
A poet who taught us that caring for ourselves is not self-indulgence, but self-preservation.
— Audre Lorde
2. Zora Neal Hurston
A storyteller who honored Black joy, community culture, and voice and in a world determined to misunderstand her.
3. bell hooks
A cultural critic who reframed love and self-esteem as radical tools for personal and collective transformation.
4. Alice Walker
5. Octavia Butler
A speculative prophet who explored power, identity, and transformation.
6. Ntozake Shange
A visionary who fused poetry and performance to center Black women’s emotional and embodied beauty.
7. Nayyirah Waheed
A minimalist poet whose lines center tenderness, healing, and self-worth.
8. June Jordan
A writer who’s voice inspired authentic expression, affirming that our bodies, voices, and identities belong fully to us.
9. Toni Morrison
A literary mother who exposed how mainstream beauty standards impact Black women and girls.
10. Lucille Clifton
A poet who wrote the Black woman’s body as sacred, miraculous, and worthy of reverence.
11. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A novelist who examines identity, culture, and womanhood with precision, reminding us that self-definition is a form of beauty.
12. Gwendolyn Brooks
A poet who found brilliance and grace in ordinary moments of Black life.
Bonus Quote:
Maya Angelou
A true light who inspired so many of us, Dr. Maya Angelou was a truth-teller who gave language to dignity, resilience, and the radiance of Black womanhood.
As we continue this exploration of beauty, self-love, and reclamation, I invite you to stay with us.
Issue 6: Beauty is a love letter to Black women in all our softness, complexity, and power.
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