It’s September, which is the perfect time to delve into a book by bell hooks. The Black feminist literary legend was born on September 25th. If you’re a fan of Black feminist literature and you haven’t read Sister of the Yam, what are you waiting for? You can join the Spoken Black Girl Community and read in community!

While sitting with these quotes, I realized that I’m grateful for every woman who ever took the time to care for herself, and love herself even if that’s not what she was taught growing up. So many of the writers below echo the sentiment that mothers are out first mirrors, the individuals who teach us how to love.

When the world is in trouble, we readers, writers, and artists often reach for voices of solace to guide us through. No one has ever given me as much faith as the voices of our Black women writer ancestors.