BHM’22: 5 Outstanding Black Women making an impact in the 21st Century

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Hey everyoneee!

Still in the spirit of celebrating Black History Month, today I’ll be talking about 5 very beautiful and outstanding black women in our century.

A lot of times when the society praises black women, they talk of the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and others. Today I want to talk about the black women of my generation who inspire me and make me proud of who I am.

Here are a few of the things they’ve done that inspire me.

Zendaya Coleman

If you don’t know Zendaya, best believe you’re doing everything wrong.

Zendaya is an exceptional actress, outstanding dancer, model and an amazing singer but above that, she is a very influential black woman.

At 16, she joined the board of Disney’s executives and demanded that all the members of her family on her show, K.C Undercover must be black. She has her own shoeline, Sole of Daya.

In 2015, Guiliana Rancic made a comment about Zendaya’s dreadlocks which she wore on the Oscar’s red carpet, saying it looked like they smell of weed and patchouli.

Zendaya responded with a thoughtful tweet which wasn’t only about sticking up for herself but also fighting against stereotypes that perpetuate racism.

Cr: @zendaya (Twitter)

That isn’t the last time that she stood up for black women. At Beautycon, she said “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a black girl and that needs to change. We’re vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to be the only representation of that. What I’m saying is that- it’s about creating those opportunities. Sometimes you have to create those paths and that’s with anything; Hollywood, art, whatever”.

Marsai Martin

Marsai is Hollywood’s youngest person to both produce and star in her first major movie “Little”. She started her own film production company called Genius Productions. In 2019, Time magazine named her on its “Time 100 Next”. She made 2020 Forbes 30 under 30 list. She hosted a writer’s brunch for creators of colour. She partnered with Essilor of America to highlight the importance of vision care for changing needs of kids eye health. She, alongside Yara Shahidi are pushing for natural hair movement for black women.

Yara Shahidi

This Half American half Iranian lady is shaking the status quo. She appeared at 2015 NAACP panel on Hollywood diversity. She and the UN founded”Yara’s Club”; an online intiative to mentor high school students. She started Eighteen×18, to encourage young people to vote and even had a voting party for her 18th birthday. She’s given talks at summits and panels with Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama who later wrote a recommendation letter for Yara to Harvard. She also participated in Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn Initiative. In 2017, Oprah Winfrey called her one of the “most profound 17-year olds alive”. She is one of Glamour’s 2019 Women of the year. In 2021, Yara Shahidi joined the Dior Stand with Women campaign. She is also one of the young celebs most known for using their platforms to spread word on feminism, anti-racism and so many more.

Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg is recognized for their outspoken views, particularly towards their activism for LGBT youth and feminism. They did a super soul session with Oprah Winfrey and obliged with a meditation on beauty standards called “My Authenticity is My Activism”. Beyonce asked them to film scenes in Lemonade and told them, “When Blue grows up, I want her to be just like you”. Ms. Foundation named them it’s “Feminist Celebrity of 2015” and Time magazine named them, “Most Influential Teen” twice. In 2016, they were included in the list of SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders by Oprah Winfrey.

They are outspoken about their political views in interviews and on social media. They have spoken publicly on social media about cultural appropriation. Their video, “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows” admonished Kylie Jenner for adopting that traditionally African-American hairstyle. In April 2016, Stenberg gave a speech at WE Day California, a WE Charity event.

You

Black women go through all sorts every single day, wherever we are but the fact that you’re still here, standing tall and strong, I’m proud of you. Even though you might feel exhausted, tired, literally clinging on to your last thread, you are still so strong.

And you are so beautiful and powerful.

It’s your month so celebrate yourself, black queens 👸🏽

Okay guys that concludes today’s post!

Comment down below other black women that inspire you!

• The struggles of having natural hair~ Black Girls