manipulated daydreams.

Poet and award-winning author, Maya Angelou.

Former Black Panther and activist, Angela Davis.

Harlem Renaissance poet and literary figure, Langston Hughes.

First Black woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress, Dorothy Dandridge.

Superstar singer and dancer, Josephine Baker.

The man who helped break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Jackie Robinson.

‘The fastest woman in the world,’ Wilma Rudolph.

Historian, sociologist and co-founder of the @NAACP, W.E.B DuBois.

“The first Black woman millionaire in America,” Madam CJ Walker.

Anti-lynching crusader and journalist, Ida B. Wells.

The first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue, Donyale Luna.

One of the most prolific and influential jazz singers of all-time, Billie Holiday.

The civil rights activist who helped ignite the Montgomery bus boycott, Rosa Parks.

Singer-songwriter who became known as the “Queen of Disco” in the ‘70s, Donna Summer.

Civil rights leader and minister Martin Luther King, Jr.

HARRIET TUBMAN WAS HELD CAPTIVE AND BOUND TO UNPAID, BACK-BREAKING LABOR SINCE BIRTH UNDER PENALTY OF TORTURE OR DEATH. SHE MANAGED TO ESCAPE THAT LIFE, AND SHE TURNED THE FUCK AROUND AND WENT THE FUCK BACK TO GET EVERYONE ELSE WHO WAS STILL TRAPPED IN IT. AND THEN SHE DID IT AGAIN EIGHTEEN MORE TIMES.

WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS UNSURE WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS PREPARED TO MAKE A STAND AGAINST SLAVERY, HARRIET TUBMAN BASICALLY SAID HE SHOULD STOP BEING SUCH A DIAPER BABY AND THAT GUYS WHO ARE TOO SCARED TO END SLAVERY DON’T DESERVE TO WIN WARS.

NOT ONLY DID SHE SECRET OVER 300 SLAVES TO FREEDOM ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, BUT SHE ACTED AS A SPY FOR THE UNION ARMY DURING THE CIVIL WAR, AND BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO LEAD AN ARMED ASSAULT IN THE CIVIL WAR. THAT RAID BROUGHT FREEDOM TO OVER 700 SLAVES IN ONE GO.

SO I JUST WANT YOU TO STEW ON THAT FOR LIKE A MINUTE. ACTING IN THE SHADOWS, SHE WALKED INTO HELL ON EARTH 19 TIMES TO SAVE HER FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS FROM THE TORMENT SHE ENDURED, AND THE SECOND SHE WAS GIVEN EVEN A MODICUM OF POWER, SHE MANAGED TO FREE SEVEN HUNDRED SLAVES IN ONE DAY. 

She also got ripped off by the government, who wasn’t paying her what she deserved (and wouldn’t even give her her pension after the war for her service- but instead eventually granted her pension as the widow of a veteran), so she supported herself by making and selling root beer. 

She used her earnings to support free black women, she worked to support two schools for freed men in the south, she provided food and care to the black people that came to her home, and she fought for women’s suffrage. When she died, she was buried with military honors. 

Oh, and when she had brain surgery, she denied anesthesia and instead bit down on a bullet. 

a “baby did you eat today?” kind of love.

a “you’re the first person I told” kind of love.

an “I gotta kiss you before you leave” kind of love

an “I love you” before we say bye kind of love.

an “I noticed that you need this so I got it for you” kind of love.

a “we’re not going to bed til we’ve made up” kind of love.

a wipe my tears away kind of love.

a nonstop joke fest until I smile again kind of love.

a goofy smile when I walk in the room kind of love.

a hold me until my panic attack passes kind of love.

a rub my back after work kind of love.