From climate change to health care to the rising cost of everything, we’ve got a lot to worry about – and let’s not even get started on the 2024 Presidential election. But even in all the darkness, there are glimmers of hope everywhere. And we decided to look at some of our favorite actors, athletes and politicians to help us find some positivity to take with us into the new year.
If you’re looking for a little inspiration, we’ve rounded up some of the best advice Black celebs have given us all year.
Suggested Reading
Viola Davis
“To move through life with any level of grace, and break generational curses, you have to be a hero. You have to be really brave in deciding where you want your life to go—and where you don’t want it to go.”
Viola Davis interview for the November - December 2023 Harvard Business Review
Courtney B. Vance
“Everything that’s worth doing costs you something. And just because it’s hard work doesn’t mean there’s something wrong. It just means it does work. You got to go through it.”
- Courtney B. Vance to NPR on the need to go deep within oneself to care for mental health.
Misty Copeland
“It’s so powerful to have a voice and to have the freedom and power to use it. We should never take that for granted.”
- Misty Copeland on Instagram
Tabitha Brown
“Don’t confuse JOY with perfection… You can have JOY while things are imperfect…”
-Tabitha Brown in November 2023 on X, formerly known as Twitter
Amanda Gorman
“As strange as it feels to post about something as simple as books in these chaotic and violent times, I truly believe that stories are where we access each other’s humanity in times of darkness—to censor them is to lose more than everything: it’s to lose ourselves, which is to say, one another.”
-Amanda Gorman in October 2023 on X, formerly known as Twitter
Serena Williams
“Some people cry not because they are weak… but because they have been strong for too long.”
- Serena Williams in May 2023 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Sheryl Lee Ralph
“My life has been about preparing for longevity. Finding my joy, making great choices for me, understanding that life is not always fair. Sometimes it’s your day. Sometimes it’s not your day. But if it’s a good day or a bad day, you’ve got to thank God because you got a day.”
- Sheryl Lee Ralph in July 2023 AARP Magazine
Nicole Avant
- Nicole Avant - author, filmmaker and former US Ambassador to the Bahamas on Instagram
Gabrielle Union
“Grace is such a gift—it’s the best gift I can give to myself and others.”
- Gabrielle Union to Who What Wear, June 2023
Kerry Washington
“Through the years what I’ve learned about beauty is that it really is an internal job. I have found that for myself, I look and feel most beautiful when I am healthiest and happiest. I think beauty is really about finding peace and wellness, and then, that beauty shines through.”
Kerry Washington, November 2023 BAZAAR UK
Yusef Salaam
“I’m dedicating my life to being useful. To my community, to my neighborhood, to my city. And to do that means letting go of some burdens of the past. Never forgetting, but forgiving. There is power in forgiving.”
-Dr. Yusef Salaam, member of the Exonerated Five to Esquire in October 2023
Allyson Felix
“It looks so much different. When I was younger, it was very clear cut. It was all about being the best and winning—things that I could consider tangible. Now, I measure success and impact by how many people I can touch. What difference can I make that’s actually meaningful and significant in other people’s lives? It’s less about my personal goals and more so about trying to create change.”
- Olympic track star Allyson Felix to Elle Magazine in March 2023 on what success looks like.
Stacey Abrams
“Diversity isn’t simply a buzzword; it’s a catalyst for innovation and progress. When we invite a range of experiences into the room, we enrich the conversation and pave the way for growth.”
- Stacey Abrams in October 2023 on X, formerly known as Twitter
Quinta Brunson
“We have all been there. But when you piece yourself back together, when you peel yourself off the floor and rebuild yourself, and have friends and community that help you, it’s often hard to get broken like that again. I’m not telling everyone to go out there and get their heart broken, but for me, after that, I felt invincible.”
-Quinta Brunson to Glamour in November 2023 on starting over after heartbreak.
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