10 #blackgirlmagic moments that made us gag & holler in 2017

As with every year, Black women gave us moments to live for during the first year of the godforsaken Trump Administration. From Capital Hill to South Africa, #BlackGirlMagic was in full effect, either combating white foolishness or reminding the world that Black Girls Rock. There were a lot of moments to choose from this year, so here are just a few of our favorite moments in #BlackGirlMagic during 2017.

What were some of yours?!

10. Willow & Jada Smith together on stage at AFROPUNK Atlanta 2017

9. Witches of color casting spells on Trump’s ass

Okay, teeeechnically this is happening in 2018, but we couldn’t resist! As the year winds to a close and the anniversary of Trump’s inauguration lurks in the distance, the Black brujas of Witches Against Trump campaign are using their spiritual connections to hex that asshole out of office and to “continue to amplify the voices of marginalized Black brown, queer, disabled and trans folks.”

Join the cause.

8. First Black Woman elected Harvard Law Review President

7. Grace Jones releases documentary about her lasting legacy

Toronto Film Festival selection Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami was filmed over the course of a decade and promises to offer “a stylish and unconventional look at the Jamaican-born model, singer, and New Wave icon.”

6. Former Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown’s memoirs get feature film adaptation

The first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party, Elaine Brown’s ‘A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story’ was written in the years following her departure from the Party and it tells the story of a young black girl who grows up between rough neighborhoods in New York and North Philly as she struggles to “act white enough” for her friends at an experimental integrated school, her affair with Jay Kennedy, and her time spent with the Black Panthers.

5. #NotInMyName movement

Earlier this year, hundreds gathered in Pretoria to make one huge statement against violence against women and children. Operating as a group called #NotInMyName, these protestors—most of which are men—followed a woman symbolically dressed in white through Pretoria to take a stand against the violence they’ve enabled or ignored for too long. “The time to take collective responsibility for our shameful action is now,” protestor Kholofelo Masha told AlJazeera.

#NotInMyName came as a response to South Africa’s #MenAreTrash movement which has seen many SA women mobilize after a disconcerting rise in female disappearances and the devastating murder of 22-year-old Karabo Mokoena who was killed by her boyfriend.

 4. Princess Nokia throws hot soup on racist  train-rider

New Yorkers kicking racists ass one at a time pic.twitter.com/yRUBD3kXIs

— BallerAlert (@balleralert) October 10, 2017

3. Missy Elliott SLAYS over-the-top performance of “She’s a Bitch” on VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors

2. “Reclaiming my time” – Congresswoman Maxine Waters

Bonus Round:

1. Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement

In our opinion, few people made as big a difference in 2017 than activist and advocate Tarana Burke who created the movement years ago to help sexual assault survivors located in underprivileged communities where crisis centers have failed and social justice workers weren’t going to. On one hand, the approrpiation of Tarana’s awareness movement has empowered women of all background across the world vocalize their experiences and stand up to system we once thought were immovable, it’s so important to remember who Tarana was advocating for from the begining and not taking her work for granted.