Legacy: Ntozake Shange was a playwright, poet, and author known for her powerful explorations of Black femmehood, race, class, gender, and  mental health. Her most famous work, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf," confronts themes that reflect the pain, struggle,  joy,  resilience, and misunderstanding of Black womanhood. Shange's work is bold, striking, and deeply emotional as noted by the Barnard Center for Research on Women in the 2015, mini documentary "Her Pen is a Machete." At the age of 8 I received my first copy of For Colored Girls by my mother and my world has never been the same. Ntozakes' weaving of music, dance, numerous languages, and embodied movement is something that has stuck with me all these years. Mastering the art of flow and embodiment, Ntozake's artistry reminds us that we are the altar, the holy space, and belong fully to ourselves even in moments when we need to reclaim "our stolen stuff." If you're new to the works of Ntozake Shange, I suggest starting with Wild Beauty or For Colored Girls (and please, not the movie).