If I haven’t made it clear enough thus far, the High Priestess of Soul’s music is legendary because of it’s dynamic, sultry, and unapologetically honest tone. However, her life experiences reveal a wisdom that transcended even her music.

So here are 10 of the wisest, most badass Nina Simone quotes I could find to empower every woman and person of color. 

1. “The worst thing about that kind of prejudice… is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.”       
2. “To me, we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world. Black people. And I mean that in every sense.”
3. “Did you know that the human voice is the only pure instrument? That it has notes no other instrument has? It’s like being between the keys of a piano. The notes are there, you can sing them, but they can’t be found on any instrument. That’s like me. I live in between this. I live in both worlds, the black and white world.”
4. “I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!”
5. “I’m a real rebel with a cause.”
6. “I think that the artists who don’t get involved in preaching messages probably are happier – but you see, I have to live with Nina, and that is very difficult.”
7. “You feel the shame, humiliation, and anger at being just another victim of prejudice, and at the same time, there’s the nagging worry that maybe… you’re just no good.”
8. “I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about… Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.”

9. “You’ve got to learn to leave the table when love’s no longer being served.”

10. “The pressure of show business is on all the time and show business is a fickle business. Whatever is popular now – that’s all that counts. I have to constantly re-identify myself to myself, reactivate my own standards, my own convictions about what I’m doing and why.”

Simone stated once that she had a duty as an artist to “make people feel on a deep level”. In reading her quotes its clear that she didn’t solely evoke feeling in people sonically. Her empowering words inspire us to stay powerful, resilient, and true.