1. We are so inspired by the countless authors who have sparked our minds and encouraged us to grow. Here is our list of inspirational quotes from our favorite authors.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” -Alice Walker
2.

“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” -Toni Morrison
3. Ntozake Shange

“Where there is a woman there is magic.”
4. Maya Angelou

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”
5. Terry McMillan

“Too many of us are hung up on what we don’t have, can’t have, or won’t ever have. We spend too much energy being down, when we could use that same energy – if not less of it – doing, or at least trying to do, some of the things we really want to do.”
6. Sista Souljah

“To be a real man or woman, you’ve got to know what you believe in. You’ve got to understand that your actions have consequences and that they are connected to everything that you are.”
7. Nikki Giovanni

“Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.”
8. bell hooks

“I will not have my life narrowed down. I will not bow down to somebody else’s whim or to someone else’s ignorance.”
9. Audre Lorde

“If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.”
10. Will you be watching?

The NAACP Image Awards Show is back for its 47th year on Feb. 5. Tune in on TV One at 8/7 C for the red carpet and 9/8 C for the ceremony!