Google Doodle Honors Audre Lorde, Poet And Civil Rights Activist

In time for the ongoing annual Black History Month celebrations in the United States, Google Doodle is honoring acclaimed poet and civil rights activist Audre Lorde with a slideshow on Thursday, which also marks her 87th birth anniversary.

Lorde, who described herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet," was a prominent figure of the Black and LGBTQ+ cultural movements of the 20th century, with several of her works bravely speaking up against sexual and racial prejudice.

She authored over 10 books, including "Sister Outsider," which is a collection of her speeches and essays. She was a recipient of the American Book Award and was also honored as the poet laureate of New York State through the Walt Whitman Citation of Merit for her achievements in literature. Lorde died in 1992 after an arduous battle with breast cancer.

Google Doodle's tribute to Lorde features an excerpt from the speech that she delivered at Harvard University in 1982.

In celebration of Lorde's priceless contribution to society, here are a few inspirational quotes from the poet and activist, courtesy of Good Reads and The Oprah Magazine:

• "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."
• "Life is very short. What we have to do must be done in the now."
• "The love expressed between women is particular and powerful because we have had to love in order to live; love has been our survival."
• "I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood."
• "Pain is important: how we evade it, how we succumb to it, how we deal with it, how we transcend it."
• "In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction."
• "I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt good, but the pain, the intense, often unmitigated pain. It is important to share how I know survival is survival and not just a walk through the rain."
• "It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences."
• "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."
• "Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat."