200 Best Melanin Quotes To Make You Feel Beautiful (Tumblr)

1. “Melanin is the most ancient and worldwide pigment in living organisms. The very thing that colors the bark on trees brown and the soil of the earth. It dwells in your very essence.” – Unknown

2. “Squids, cephalopods in general, when they squirt out ink, the ink they squirt out is made up mostly of melanin. Organisms of other species have also used melanin as a protective and defensive means.” – Dr. Raven Baxter

3. “…Beauty shouldn’t be defined by whether you wear the Deepest Deep Foundation (like me!) or the Translucent one. It’s all about confidence in your own skin and in your beauty. It’s corny, but it’s true.”

4. "Melanin exerts a protective effect on skin and underlying tissues.” -Kevin Tokeph

5. "The evolutionary advantage of melanin is to protect us from the ultraviolet rays, especially in regions which the planet is most exposed to the sun like Central America, Africa, and the Middle East. That is why these people possess more melanin.” -Kevin Tokeph

6. "Team Light Skin? No. Team Dark Skin? No. Team Brown Skin? No. TEAM MELANIN… Black Women and Black Girls are Exquisite Beauty in EVERY Shade.”

7. "Historically it had always been thought that melanin played a significant role in the intellectual propensity of African people.” -Dr. Umar Johnson

8. "The body is actually a communication system, and it works through light. So it’s like a supercomputer, in fact, there is somebody who is studying whether energy is directly absorbed from the melanin in your skin and transformed into energy in your body. It’s thought to be some people, to be a master molecule that actually steers how the body communicates.” -Dr. Karl Merat

9. "One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.

10. "Stop comparing skin tones. Who cares if your skin is lighter or darker than the person standing next to you? Change can only happen once you can truthfully look in the mirror and love that Deep Chocolate, Cinnamon, Mocha, or Caramel complexion.” –Alicia D. Love

11. "Black women were created of brown sugar and warm honey. the sweetest thing to bless the earth. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.” –Alexandra Elle

12. "White supremacy is antithetical to justice. You cannot have white supremacy and justice at the same time. I believe that white supremacy puts the people who are supposed to know about justice in black robes because you have to have melanin to understand what balance in this universe really is. We are the people who are peculiarly suited to bring justice to this planet, I believe that is our mission.” – Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

13. "Dear Exquisite Black Queen… No matter what shade of MELANIN you are, know that your skin tone is brilliant. You, my Queen, are phenomenally made!” ― Stephanie Lahart

14. “I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.”

15. “I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society, and how they may view that.”

16. "Phenomenal woman, that's me!

17. "Melanin Poppin’ and No Worries!” – Stephanie Lahart.

18. “Black girl magic means we can do anything we want. We are natural born leaders and we presevere through everything and when somebody says ‘No’ we smile and keep it moving.” – Tiki Sumpter

19. "Dear Exquisite Black Queen... No matter what shade of MELANIN you are, know that your skin tone is brilliant. You, my Queen, are phenomenally made!”

20. “Black Girls… Stop settling for less than what you deserve. That’s why I stress self-love! There comes a time when you can no longer blame a man. You’ve got to hold yourself accountable for the choices that you make. Choose wisely! Slow down. Pay attention. Don’t allow his good looks and swag to blind you from the truth. Don’t be so easily flattered by money, cars, jewelry, and all of that other stuff. Your heart and well-being is worth much more than that. Choose someone who respects, loves, and adores you. Somebody who has your best interest at heart. Nothing less! Allow yourself to experience REAL love. Stop giving your love, time, and attention to men who clearly don’t deserve it. #ItsAllUpToYou”

21. "When I get up and work out, I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself. It’s just as much about letting them know as young women that it is okay to put yourself a little higher on your priority list.” –Michelle Obama

22. "Oftentimes due to the societies we live in that promote the European standard of beauty, many black women can feel that their beauty is not good enough. But this is starting to change more and more as they start to realize that their melanin is like magic.” -Chime

23. "Glamour is about feeling good in your own skin.” – Zoe Saldana.

24. "Black women were created of brown sugar and warm honey. The sweetest thing to bless the earth. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.”

25. "Melanin is a versatile molecule, not only is it responsible for giving us our UV blocking completion, at the cellular level it gobbles up harmful radicals that lead to diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s.” -Eduardo Di Mauro

26. "Melanin is an intelligence. It’s an intelligence because it’s the primary dynamic in every single cell, it’s a primary dynamic in the core of the human being as well to the surface of the human being. Its intelligence is responsible for the forming the of the nervous system. Every part of the nervous system has these little black dots that carry information.” -Dr. Phil Valentine

27. "That bubble of doubt within? It’s time to stick a pin in it. And wear your dark and lovely face with a grin on it.” ― Princess Latifah

28. "The black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.”

29. “you are not racism.

30. "My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden, Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me. When I saw Alek [Wek] I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty, but around me the preference for light skin prevailed. To the beholders that I thought mattered, I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me,"You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you.” And these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.” –Lupita Nyong’o

31. "A study found that black women’s skin typically ages about ten years slower than white women’s skin. Here is why, human skin has 3 layers; epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. Melanocytes in the epidermis produce melanin, a natural human pigment. Melanin blocks UV rays which can accelerate the aging process, black men and women produce more melanin in their skin which results in darker pigments.” -Kevin Tokeph

32. “Humanity today forms a single species and can interbreed freely. Differences in color of hair, skin and eyes are largely due to differences in the quantity of a pigment called melanin, and this does not affect humanity's essentially unitary character. Nor do differences in the shape of the eye or nose, in the shape of the skull, or in height.”

33. "One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.” – Franklin A. Thomas

34. "Researchers are still learning how melanin behaves when surrounded by the machinery that makes useful electronics work.” -Eduardo Di Mauro

35. "In steering things in the body, in the regulatory system, melanin’s role in embryological organization, as in the baby’s organization and tissue repair and tissue regeneration, may be connected to the major role it plays to balance the body called homeostasis.” -Dr. Karl Merat

36. "I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.” –India.Arie

37. "Melanin is the pigment that gives your hair and skin its color.” -Angela Koine Flynn

38. "They are about serious business, removing as they deem necessary, the people of melanin on this planet. If we do not understand and make an analysis, it is fundamental, it is this dynamic that is taking us out. Everything that we look at, everything else, I believe and I could be wrong, but as it comes to me, it will be in vain. Everything that we are studying is important. Everything we look at has high-level significance, but if we are not understanding this massive war and everything that is at stake. I believe we will not be able to apply our energy force in a laser type manner so that we really begin to neutralize the war that is coming at us. It is critically essential for us to develop or articulate a new world order of dialogue.” – Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

39. "Humanity today forms a single species and can interbreed freely. Differences in color of hair, skin, and eyes are largely due to differences in the quantity of a pigment called melanin, and this does not affect humanity’s essentially unitary character. Nor do differences in the shape of the eye or nose, in the shape of the skull, or in height.” ― Isaac Asimov

40. “Melanin represents unity in the diversity of life on earth.”

41. "Their skin drips the melanin, it absorbs the sun rays too, their hairs are graciously curly, aren’t they magical human beings? At times I get jealous of them because, ‘black is beautiful’. The always makes my head turn!

42. "It’s been a war on the heavily melanated /For your own security, you better be educated, listen” -Black Thought

43. "Not only is melanin a pigment, which is so obvious, but melanin as an intelligence is a communications module. That essentially broadcasts as well as receives information by way of light and sound frequency signatures.” -Dr. Phil Valentine

44. "I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.

45. "On cold days, when I felt invigorated, my black co-workers seemed lethargic.” — David Duke

46. "I just can’t conceive of how a person could hate another because of skin color. I love every race on the planet earth.” — Michael Jackson

47. “Melanin touches your eyes like the sun kissed bliss of mankind".

48. "God made me this way so I have to be happy with who I am. And it’s a journey. And I embrace my brown skin sisters. I love them and I hope that they embrace me.” – Kym Whitley.

49. "Black and brown melanin was used in ancient Egypt as a form of like a conductor or transmitter. They would also use it to share information by sending vibrations and energy.” – Zanemvula

50. “Your beauty will be in shades of melanin and light.”

51. "My melanin is powerful. It threatens the ignorant, challenges the misinformed. My articulation intimidates. It demands respect the moment I speak. You understand me clearly and with all that all I’ve ever had to be, was black.” — Nii Lee Cyrus

52. "Melanin itself is a blanket term for naturally occurring pigments in organisms.” -Dr. Raven Baxter

53. "Your beauty will be in shades of melanin and light.” ― R. YS Perez

54. "If you’re lucky enough to be different, don’t ever change.” — Khoudia Diop

55. "I think the bottom line of everything, even when we talk about healing this colorism issue in the world, is that it starts with healing yourself. Because really you’re the only person you can control. Work on yourself and treat yourself, talk to yourself the way you would talk to somebody who you’re trying to heal.” –India Arie

56. "Melanin Poppin' and No Worries!”

57. “No, I’m NOT Team Light Skin. No, I’m NOT Team Dark Skin. No, I’m NOT Team Brown Skin. I’m Team Melanin because we are one! I’m a Black Queen that celebrates ALL shades of Black beauty. Black women and Black girls are equally beautiful in EVERY shade. Our skin tones are Exquisite Beauty. Respect the complexion!”

58. "…In the history of television and even in film, I’ve never seen a character like Annalise Keating played by someone who looks like me. My age, my hue, my sex. She is a woman who absolutely culminates the full spectrum of humanity our askew sexuality, our askew maternal instincts. She’s all of that, and she’s a dark-skin black woman.” –Viola Davis

59. "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” –Audre Lorde

60. "When a man tells a Black woman that she looks mixed as a form of endearment, he’s insinuating that her beauty comes from the (allegedly) non Black part of her. All they’re effectively saying is: You’re too beautiful to just be Black. Oh, but I am. We aren’t beautiful in spite of our Blackness, we are beautiful because of it. So don’t dare try to give the credit to anything else.” –Shayla Pierce

61. “I am dripping melanin and honey. I am black without apology”. –Upile

62. “#TeamLightSkin vs. #TeamDarkSkin… REALLY, are you serious? To the black females that participate in this garbage, shame on you! Yes, I said it and I won’t take it back. After all that we’ve been through as a race regarding the light-skinned niggers versus the dark-skinned niggers, you’re actually keeping this garbage up? It’s time to wake up my Beautiful Black Queens! Educate yourself and know your history. This shouldn’t be something that we’re entertaining. WE are #TeamMelanin! Period. Enough of the foolishness! Respect yourself. Respect our race. We should be building one another up, not tearing each other down. Melanin is Exquisite Beauty in EVERY shade. Together, WE are strong, unstoppable, and powerful. Enough is enough! I encourage you to stop participating in things that keep us divided. Real Talk!”

63. “Clearly the more melanin you have, the more beneficial it is to your being and your body. How could anyone ever be ashamed of the melanin that possesses so much magic?” -Chime

64. “Black Girls… Always believe in yourself, even if nobody else does! Sometimes in life, you won’t always get the encouragement and support that you desire, but don’t allow that to stop you from accomplishing YOUR dreams. You’ve got to learn how to encourage yourself and be happy for yourself in spite of. Everybody won’t be happy for you, and that’s okay. Be happy for yourself and always see the best in yourself! Do it for YOU. Don’t focus on the negative. Negativity is only a distraction. Stay the course and stay focused! Be encouraged and do GREAT things. You’ve got this!”

65. "Melanin is not just found in the skin, it’s actually found in places like our hair, our eyes even, in our brain stems, and also in our adrenal gland which sits on top of our kidney.” -Dr. Raven Baxter

66. "Too much exposure to UV rays can cause the skin to age quicker resulting in wrinkles and sunspots, since white women produce less melanin, they can show signs of aging faster. This doesn’t mean black women won’t experience skin aging, it just happens at a slower rate.” -Kevin Tokeph

67. “Oftentimes due to the societies we live in that promote the European standard of beauty, many black women can feel that their beauty is not good enough. But this is starting to change more and more as they start to realize that their melanin is like magic.” -Chime

68. "The critical question is can we protect Melanin? And they are saying up in our faces that you can’t do anything about what I decide to do to you. Now if we do not look at that challenge if we direct our attention to other things… A massive movement is going on, Melanin is being destroyed, but the system of white supremacy says I will be able by offering grants, I will be able by offering jobs, to tell you that you are the cause of the death of black people. I will be doing it, but I will make you focus on yourself and try to figure out how you can figure out how to destroy one another.” – Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

69. "Melanin granules are able to react to each other and feed each other. So it became a community thing, besides the melanin granules in one person’s body reacting to each other, they were able to react to the melanin granules in the body of others and other animals…that is how they were able to have such close relationships with animals. They (The people of ancient Kemet) were the first recorded civilization to domesticate cats.” – Zanemvula

70. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be perfectly okay with being who YOU are. Fully embrace yourself, flaws and all. Love yourself right where you are. Strive to do better, but don’t beat yourself up for every shortcoming that you may have. Be brave in your journey! Hold your head up high, and keep moving forward."

71. "Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.” –Iyanla Vanzant

72. "Your beauty will be in shades of melanin and light.”

73. "That bubble of doubt within? It’s time to stick a pin in it. And wear your dark and lovely face with a grin on it.”

74. “I look at my skin and it is glowing with constellations of ancestors. I ask them about escape and freedom and listen for revelation.”

75. “Everyone has the same number of melanocytes, but some people make more than others. The bodies of Africans contained massive amounts of melanocytes. So we know when we read on ancient Egypt, they believed that death was not the end, death was just merely part of the journey. The afterlife was so revered and so sacred, they had such a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the afterlife, so the way they preserved the body and the melanin in the body, they really prioritized the preservation of melanin in the mummification process with the aim of creating an actual reality state after death.” -Zanemvula

76. "Like all readers, I want my limits to be drawn by my own sensibilities, not by my melanin count” – Zadie Smith

77. "Black women were created of brown sugar and warm honey. the sweetest thing to bless the earth. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.” — Alexandra Elle

78. "My father was a slave and my people died to build this country, and I’m going to stay right here and have a part of it, just like you. And no fascist-minded people like you will drive me from it.” –Paul Robeson

79. "Everyone has melanin, both light, and dark-skinned individuals.” – Chime

80. "I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. . . . Even in the helter-skelter skirmish that is my life, I have seen that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or less. No, I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.” – Zora Neale Hurston

81. “Melanin is a molecule and the concept of melanin, it is black in its nature and we find it in the cosmos and we find it in the heavens, we find it in water, we find it in the land, we find it in everything that exists.” -Dr. Kaba Hiawatha Kamene

82. "Over the course of generations, humans living in the sun saturated latitudes in Africa, adapted to have a higher melanin production threshold and more eumelanin, giving skin a darker tone. This built-in sunshield protected them from melanoma. Likely making them evolutionary fitter and capable of passing this useful trait to new generations.” -Angela Koine Flynn

83. “It’s been a war on the heavily melanated /For your own security, you better be educated, listen” -Black Thought

84. “Melanin is responsible for determining skin and hair color and is present in the skin to varying degrees, depending on how much a population has been exposed to the sun historically.”

85. “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

86. “There is a lot of pressure on women to conform to a certain image - shadeismitself is another manifestation of that."

87. "God made me this way so I have to be happy with who I am. And it’s a journey. And I embrace my brown skin sisters. I love them and I hope that they embrace me.” –Kym Whitley

88. “Team Light Skin? No. Team Dark Skin? No. Team Brown Skin? No. TEAM MELANIN… Black Women and Black Girls are Exquisite Beauty in EVERY Shade.”

89. “Their skin drips the melanin, it absorbs the sun rays too, their hairs are graciously curly, aren’t they magical human beings? At times I get jealous of them because, ‘black is beautiful’. The always makes my head turn!” – C. Vais Hnawi Rao

90. "Beauty is being comfortable and confident in your own skin.

91. "Just because you are different does not mean that you have to be rejected.” –Eartha Kitt

92. “Black Girls… Don’t be afraid to use your voice. Your thoughts, opinions, and ideas are just as important as anybody else’s. When you speak, speak with boldness and purpose. Have courage, be confident, and always be true to yourself! Live your life fearlessly! Your voice has GREAT power; don’t be afraid to utilize it when needed. You’re NOT an angry Black woman; you’re a woman who has something important to say. Your voice matters and so do YOU.”

93. “FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

94. “Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.”

95. "Everyone has the same number of melanocytes, but some people make more than others. The bodies of Africans contained massive amounts of melanocytes. So we know when we read on ancient Egypt, they believed that death was not the end, death was just merely part of the journey. The afterlife was so revered and so sacred, they had such a comprehensive and holistic understanding of the afterlife, so the way they preserved the body and the melanin in the body, they really prioritized the preservation of melanin in the mummification process with the aim of creating an actual reality state after death.” -Zanemvula

96. "Stop comparing skin tones. Who cares if your skin is lighter or darker than the person standing next to you? Change can only happen once you can truthfully look in the mirror and love that Deep Chocolate, Cinnamon, Mocha, or Caramel complexion.” – Alicia D.

97. "The word melanin has a Greek root, from ‘melas’ which means dark, or black.” -Dr. Raven Baxter

98. “There is a lot of pressure on women to conform to a certain image - shadeism itself is another manifestation of that.”

99. "So the whole point of mummification was to preserve the skin which held the actual living network, a neural network of melanin. They believed that the conductivity of melanin increased with age, so technically Tutankhamun’s mummy is more alive now in the afterlife than it ever was here on earth.” – Zanemvula

100. “Our melanin will always make us marvelous... Just imagine what that sea of sisterhood would look like. Magic!”

101. “Your beauty will be in shades of melanin and light.” – R.Y.S. Perez

102. "The sperm of the male and the egg of the women, they are both layered with melanin so that when the sperm penetrates the egg there is a melanin explosion. And the melanin helps to formulate the fetus within that egg and that fetus is literally coated with the melanin substance, and that melanin substance goes on to form the brain and central nervous system. So every human being begins with a melanin explosion” -Dr. Anthony Browder

103. "I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society, and how they may view that.” ― Lupita Nyong’o

104. “Team Light Skin? No. Team Dark Skin? No. Team Brown Skin? No. TEAM MELANIN… Black Women and Black Girls are Exquisite Beauty in EVERY Shade".

105. "Like all readers, I want my limits to be drawn by my own sensibilities, not by my melanin count.”

106. "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” –Audre Lorde

107. "The world wants to define me by my mammary glands and melanin. It is just fascinating that Michael Mann has never been asked what it is like to be a white male filmmaker.” – Victoria Mahoney.

108. "The Black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.” –Marcus Garvey

109. “In invertebrates, melanin plays a huge role in their immune system. When they have a pathogen coming into their system, they will coat the pathogen in melanin and kill it.” -Dr. Raven Baxter

110. "The black skin is not a badge of shame but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness.” – Marcus Garvey.

111. "Melanin is a molecule and the concept of melanin, it is black in its nature and we find it in the cosmos and we find it in the heavens, we find it in water, we find it in the land, we find it in everything that exists.” -Dr. Kaba Hiawatha Kamene

112. "Black excellence, opulence, decadence.

113. “Over the course of generations, humans living in the sun saturated latitudes in Africa, adapted to have a higher melanin production threshold and more eumelanin, giving skin a darker tone. This built-in sunshield protected them from melanoma. Likely making them evolutionary fitter and capable of passing this useful trait to new generations.” -Angela Koine Flynn

114. "Their skin drips the melanin, it absorbs the sun rays too, their hairs are graciously curly, aren’t they magical human beings? At times I get jealous of them because ‘black is beautiful. They always make my head turn!” – C. Vais Hnawi Rao.

115. "I look at my skin and it is glowing with constellations of ancestors. I ask them about escape and freedom and listen for revelation.”

116. "There is a war being waged on melanated people, and melanated people, people of color should realize this war is going on.” -Tareeq Nasheed

117. "Respect the Complexion!” – Stephanie Lahart

118. "Melanin is a neurochemical that is produced in part through the pituitary and pineal gland. They both play essential roles in the production of melanin, which is ultimately responsible for the color of our skin.” -Dr. Umar Johnson

119. “Our melanin will always make us marvelous… Just imagine what that sea of sisterhood would look like. Magic!” – Alexandra Elle

120. "Scholars and scientists have been having conferences about melanin, to my awareness, at least since the 1920s.” -Dr. Anthony Browder

121. “A Black Queen knows that her beauty is just a bonus. She is far more beautiful than the eyes can see. She’s a quality woman… A phenomenal Black Queen… Beautiful inside and out!”

122. “My melanin is powerful. It threatens the ignorant, challenges the misinformed. My articulation intimidates. It demands respect the moment I speak. You understand me clearly and with all that all I’ve ever had to be, was black…” – Nii Lee Cyrus

123. “One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique identities of each of us as complex human beings.” – Franklin A. Thomas

124. “In Australia, they would literally breed out the melanin out of the people. They would take the children and take them to breeding camps and breeding farms and breed the darker ones with the mulatto ones and the white, and literally breed the melanin out of these people.” -Tareeq Nasheed

125. "Black girl magic means we can do anything we want. We are natural born leaders and we presevere through everything and when somebody says ‘No’ we smile and keep it moving.” — Tiki Sumpter

126. “Stop comparing skin tones. Who cares if your skin is lighter or darker than the person standing next to you? Change can only happen once you can truthfully look in the mirror and love that Deep Chocolate, Cinnamon, Mocha, or Caramel complexion.”

127. "I am dripping melanin, and honey, I am black without apology.” – Upile Chisala

128. “Respect the Complexion!”

129. "Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way.”

130. "Because melanin is 100 percent compatible with our body’s makeup, it is a much safer starting material for building electronic devices, both for us and the environment.”-Eduardo Di Mauro

131. "Respect the Complexion!”

132. "I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.” – India.Arie.

133. "Melanin from a physical standpoint is that substance that accounts for what Black people refer to as ‘soul’. We move differently, we walk differently, we talk differently because we have access to a different form of energy than other folks.” -Dr. Anthony Browder

134. “Our melanin will always make us marvelous...

135. “Black Girls… Naturally resilient! We persevere, stand tall, and fight to the end. We don’t give up! We make moves and succeed. We’re go-getters by nature. We are stronger than most. We are unstoppable! Fearless and confident in our capabilities. WE are Black Girl Strong! #Incomparable”

136. "Black women were beautifully created at birth. We were blessed with melanin in our skin, which makes us Exquisitely Beautiful. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, our melanin is Fiercely Poppin’ on Purpose.” ― Stephanie Lahart

137. "I’m glad that Shonda Rhimes saw me and said"Why not?” That’s what makes her a visionary. That’s what makes her iconic. I think that beauty is subjective. I’ve heard that statement [less classically beautiful] my entire life. Being a dark-skinned black woman, you heard it from the womb. And"classically not beautiful” is a fancy term for saying ugly. And denouncing you. And erasing you. Now … it worked when I was younger. It no longer works for me now. It’s about teaching a culture how to treat you. Because at the end of the day, you define you.” –Viola Davis

138. "The one thing I feel is lacking in Hollywood today is an understanding of the beauty, the power, the sexuality, the uniqueness, the humor of being a regular black woman.” — Viola Davis

139. "Our melanin will always make us marvelous… Just imagine what that sea of sisterhood would look like. Magic!” – Alexandra Elle.

140. "You have to make melanin while the sun shines.”

141. "Racial superiority is a mere pigment of the imagination.” –Unknown

142. "In invertebrates, melanin plays a huge role in their immune system. When they have a pathogen coming into their system, they will coat the pathogen in melanin and kill it.” -Dr. Raven Baxter

143. "In Australia, they would literally breed out the melanin out of the people. They would take the children and take them to breeding camps and breeding farms and breed the darker ones with the mulatto ones and the white, and literally breed the melanin out of these people.” -Tareeq Nasheed

144. “Like all readers, I want my limits to be drawn by my own sensibilities, not by my melanin count.” – Zadie Smith

145. "Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect, and make everyone else deal with you the same way. ” –Nikki Giovanni

146. "We are not even tapping into a small fraction of what it is that we are capable of as highly melanated people.” – Zanemvula

147. “melanin is memory.

148. "If you’re thinking you’re beautiful, you can pass it off to someone else.”

149. “Black women were created of brown sugar and warm honey. the sweetest thing to bless the earth. Be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise.”

150. “A biomarker of evolution, melanin is the color of life.”

151. "Dipped in chocolate, bronzed in elegance, enameled with grace, toasted with beauty. My Lord, she’s a black woman.”

152. “Just because you are different doesn't mean that you have to be rejected.”

153. "I’m convinced that we black women possess a special indestructible strength that allows us to not only get down, but the get up, to get through, and to get over.” — Janet Jackson

154. “I’m an Exquisite Black Queen! I like, love, and celebrate myself. I don’t fit society’s beauty standards, but I’m beautiful to me. I know my worth and I respect who I am as a woman. I’ve got beauty on the inside and that makes me empowered and powerful. I’m fearless and comfortable in my own skin. I’ve got flaws, but I’m still confident! This Queen right here is flawed yet phenomenal, valuable and unique!”

155. "Squids, cephalopods in general, when they squirt out ink, the ink they squirt out is made up mostly of melanin. Organisms of other species have also used melanin as a protective and defensive means.” – Dr. Raven Baxter

156. "Melanin may play a bigger role than just absorbing all this radiation, if you get it into your body it actually has a major effect on your immune system. It protects genes and repairs broken DNA. Isn’t that wonderful? If something breaks down because you are exposed to chemicals and radiation? Think about the people of Japan right now in 2011 who are suffering from huge amounts of radiation. What could we do to help them from developing cancer? We need a DNA repairer, and that is what melanin does.” -Dr. Karl Merat

157. "Clearly the more melanin you have, the more beneficial it is to your being and your body. How could anyone ever be ashamed of the melanin that possesses so much magic?” -Chime

158. “melanin touches

159. "The more melanin in the skin, the more protection you have against the harmful effects of sun exposure.” -Kevin Tokeph

160. "They don’t want melanin plus determination coming over to this area of the world and affecting the melanated people who don’t always have determination.” -Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

161. "I look at my skin and it is glowing with constellations of ancestors. I ask them about escape and freedom and listen for revelation.” ― Junauda Petrus

162. “The African race is a rubber ball. The harder you dash it to the ground, the higher it will rise.”

163. "…Beauty shouldn’t be defined by whether you wear the Deepest Deep Foundation (like me!) or the Translucent one. It’s all about confidence in your own skin and in your beauty. It’s corny, but it’s true.” –Jayne Mandat

164. "My skin absorbs the suns rays and my hair defies gravity. You can’t tell me I’m not magical.” –Unknown

165. "The African race is a rubber ball. The harder you dash it to the ground, the higher it will rise.” –African Proverb

166. "The ability to produce melanin is a dominant genetic trait that can cause white genetic annihilation.” -Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

167. "I am not my hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within.”

168. “So the whole point of mummification was to preserve the skin which held the actual living network, a neural network of melanin. They believed that the conductivity of melanin increased with age, so technically Tutankhamun’s mummy is more alive now in the afterlife than it ever was here on earth.” – Zanemvula

169. “Melanin is an incomparable beauty. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, Black women and Black girls are exquisite beauty in every shade. Yes, Black females have that special something that just can’t be ignored. We are Melanin Queens, beautifully created! Respect the complexion.” – Stephanie Lahart

170. "Over the past decades, researchers have focused on melanin’s most promising talent yet discovered, the ability to conduct electricity. When it comes to electrical charge, melanin acts as a sort of bank, always ready to lend out or to take out electrons depending on the environment ” – Eduardo Di Mauro

171. “Black and brown melanin was used in ancient Egypt as a form of like a conductor or transmitter. They would also use it to share information by sending vibrations and energy.” – Zanemvula

172. "I will do it to you in Rwanda, I will set up the Hutu and the Tutsi, I will give each group all the weapons they need, and I’ll say I have taught you to hate your melanated selves and fight each other. I will do it to you on the stress of Los Angeles, I’ll set up one group the Crips, and one group the Bloods. Ill set up all sorts of Muslim groups to fight each other, and I know I can do it because I have programmed you for thousands of years to hate black” – Dr. Frances Cress Welsing

173. "Dipped in chocolate, bronzed in elegance, enameled with grace, toasted with beauty. My lord, she’s a black woman.” –Yosef A.A. Ben-Jochannan

174. "The key to our ancestors’ survival lay in their own personal sunscreen, manufactured beneath the skin, melanin. The type and amount of melanin in your skin will determine whether you will be more or less protected from the sun.” -Angela Koine Flynn

175. "Not everyone is going to want, accept, or know how to receive your energy. Make peace with that and keep on.” –Unknown

176. "Black women greatly benefit from melanin because it prevents them from aging as quickly as other groups.” -Chime

177. "My melanin is what gives me strength.” -Dr. Kofi Leeniles

178. “I’m convinced that we black women possess a special indestructible strength that allows us to not only get down, but to get up, to get through, and to get over."

179. "Glamour is about feeling good in your own skin.

180. "I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society, and how they may view that.”

181. “Black Girls… Until you get enough of what you’re going through, no matter what advice a person gives you, you’ll continue to go through the same thing. Constant arguing. Constant fighting. Constant lies. Constant disappointments. Constant emotional rollercoaster. Constant heartbreak. Constant headaches. Constant threats. Constantly fighting for his attention and love. Constantly looking through his phone. Constantly sneaking through his personal belongings. Constantly arguing and/or fighting with other women over who’s supposed to be YOUR mate. Secretly checking up on him due to a lack of trust. Listen, NOBODY is worth your inner peace! What I’ve listed above is NOT a relationship. It’s a toxic mess. So, what are you going to do?”

182. “Melanin Fiercely Poppin’ on Purpose.”

183. "We aren’t beautiful despite our Blackness, we are beautiful because of it. So don’t dare try to give the credit to anything else.” — Shayla Pierce

184. "There is a lot of pressure on women to conform to a certain image - shadeism itself is another manifestation of that.

185. “Black Girls… Beautiful in EVERY shade and size. We’ve got that special something! Our melanin is exquisitely beautiful! Love & embrace the skin that you’re in. Our skin tones represent beauty. Light, brown, and dark skinned girls are equally gorgeous!”

186. “Dear Exquisite Black Queen... No matter what shade of MELANIN you are, know that your skin tone is brilliant. You, my Queen, are phenomenally made!”

187. "The world wants to define me by my mammary glands and melanin. It is just fascinating that Michael Mann has never been asked what it is like to be a white male filmmaker.

188. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be perfectly okay with being who YOU are. Fully embrace yourself, flaws and all. Love yourself right where you are. Strive to do better, but don’t beat yourself up for every shortcoming that you may have. Be brave in your journey! Hold your head up high, and keep moving forward.”

189. "We aren’t beautiful in spite of our Blackness, we are beautiful because of it. So don’t dare try to give the credit to anything else.

190. "Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.” –Maya Angelou

191. “Melanin is an incomparable beauty. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, Black women and Black girls are exquisite beauty in every shade. Yes, Black females have that special something that just can’t be ignored. We are Melanin Queens, beautifully created! Respect the complexion.”

192. "I am dripping melanin and honey. I am black without apology.”

193. "Stop comparing skin tones. Who cares if your skin is lighter or darker than the person standing next to you? Change can only happen once you can truthfully look in the mirror and love that Deep Chocolate, Cinnamon, Mocha, or Caramel complexion.

194. "Melanin is an incomparable beauty. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, Black women and Black girls are exquisite beauty in every shade.” — Stephanie Lahart

195. "Don’t settle for average. Bring your best to the moment. Then, whether it fails or succeeds, at least you know you gave all you had. We need to live the best that’s in us.” –Angela Bassett

196. "When you study some of the Greek writings on melanin or the color of Africans, many of the Greek philosophers believed that melanin played some sort of role in how the Africans had been able to create and develop some of the sciences they had come to be known for, so melanin has always been known as an intellectual sort of chemical.” -Dr. Umar Johnson

197. “Over the past decades, researchers have focused on melanin’s most promising talent yet discovered, the ability to conduct electricity. When it comes to electrical charge, melanin acts as a sort of bank, always ready to lend out or to take out electrons depending on the environment ” – Eduardo Di Mauro

198. “God made me this way so I have to be happy with who I am. And it’s a journey. And I embrace my brown skin sisters. I love them and I hope that they embrace me.”

199. "Melanin exists in many other tissues as I mentioned. It’s actually a very important molecule to any woman who is having a baby because the fetus has all of this melanin in it.” -Dr. Karl Merat

200. "Our melanin will always make us marvelous… Just imagine what that sea of sisterhood would look like. Magic!”