afro-art-chick:

“I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female.”

“There are times you can’t really see or even feel how sweet life can be. Hopefully its mountains will be higher than its valleys are deep. I know things that are broken can be fixed. Take the punch if you have to, hit the canvas and then get up again. Life is worth it.”

“It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free.”

“There’s no way I can represent for everyone. I can’t represent for all women or all big women or all black women. It’s important for people not to make celebrities their source of who they should be in life. I can’t take on the pressure of being perfect. Nobody is.”

Happy 42th Birthday to singer, rapper, and actress Dana Elaine Owens, better known by her stage name Queen Latifah (b. March 18, 1970).