You can see the strength and resolve, as well as the beauty, in those historical portraits of Ida B. Wells, the journalist, activist and researcher whose work in the late 19th and early 20th century shed a light on the horror of lynching and so much else. Her actions, undeterred by racism and threats of violence, continued, even when support from those who should have been on her side disappeared. In that, she is connected to African-American women, who have turned to other black women, and ultimately, themselves for guidance and assistance they could depend on.
Fiercest Sisters of 2016: Michelle Obama, The Queen of Black Girl Magic
Black women caught on to the power of Michelle Obama before the rest of the world – before she became First Lady, in fact. The first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama, would not have claimed that title were it not for the solid political and spiritual support of black women. And for that, Michelle Obama was the key. She was special, but instantly recognizable to all the women whose talents, smarts and beauty had been discounted and whose strength against unimaginable odds had been twisted into matriarchal stereotype.