Amandla Stenberg turns 17 today! ; The actress, activist and all-around badass teen has attracted a legion of new fans over the last few months who admire her humility and honesty. From denouncing ;cultural appropriation ;to defending black women, Stenberg speaks the truth — and we’re sure she’ll continue to spread these important messages ;as ;she ;celebrates another amazing year. ; In honor of her 17th birthday, we wanted to highlight 17 ways Stenberg has defined what it ;means to be carefree, creative and non-conforming. ;Let the countdown begin! 1. She ;schooled everyone ;about cultural appropriation and warned the world: “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows.” ;The video, which was initially done as a school project…
Amandla Stenberg turns 17 today! ;
The actress, activist and all-around badass teen has attracted a legion of new fans over the last few months who admire her humility and honesty. From denouncing ;cultural appropriation ;to defending black women, Stenberg speaks the truth — and we’re sure she’ll continue to spread these important messages ;as ;she ;celebrates another amazing year. ;
In honor of her 17th birthday, we wanted to highlight 17 ways Stenberg has defined what it ;means to be carefree, creative and non-conforming. ;Let the countdown begin!
1. She ;schooled everyone ;about cultural appropriation and warned the world: “Don’t Cash Crop My Cornrows.” ;The video, which was initially done as a school project, has nearly two million views on You Tube. ;
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2. ;She was ;called ;a “voice of her generation” in her fabulous feature in “Dazed” magazine. ;
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3. ;She called out Kylie Jenner for being a culprit of cultural appropriation ;after Jenner posted a picture of her hair braided in cornrows above a caption that read, “I woke up like disss.” ;
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4. ;She added diversity to comics with her fierce and fearless superhero character, “Niobe.” ;The comic, which was produced by Stranger Comics, is expected to release Nov. 4. ;
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5. ;She went to prom with Jaden Smith ;in May and the two became the world’s coolest, carefree black couple (p.s. they’re just friends). ;
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6. She switched up her look when she flawlessly rocked these grey braids and proved to everyone she’s effortlessly dope. ; ;
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7. ;She’s encouraging young girls everywhere ;to participate in STEM. ;Stenberg co-hosted an event in ;August where she spoke with young girls and encouraged them to pursue their dreams because, she said, “we’re the generation that’s really going to make a change.”
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8. ;She’s named after Miles Davis’ 1989 album, “Amandla,” which means “power” in Zulu. ;
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9. ;She’s juggling work and school while pursuing her dreams to make a difference in the world by empowering young black girls. ;
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10. ;She admires other strong black women like Ava Duvernay and Black Panther activist Angela Davis. Davis’ empowering words were painted on her face for the August cover of “Dazed.” ;
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11. ;She plays the violin and is part of a band called, “Honeywater.” In fact, the band ;recently released an EP on iTunes.
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12. She rocked in her role as ;Rue on “The Hunger Games,” despite ;critics who were disappointed a black girl was cast for the character. ;
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13. She wants to put an end to the “angry black girl narrative” ;and speaks out when she is labeled as such. ;
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End the "angry black girl" narrative. It's just another attempt to undermine certain perspectives. I have strong opinions. I am not angry.
— Amandla Stenberg (@amandlastenberg) July 13, 2015
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14. ;She consistently uses ;social media ;to speak up about Black Lives Matter.
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15. ;She uses her platform and her voice to speak up specifically for black women, whose voices often go ignored.
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16. ;Oh, and she speaks out about race and gender issues ;without thinking twice about the haters.
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17. To sum it up, ;Stenberg is the ultimate carefree black girl. She is #BlackGirlMagic.
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Happy birthday, girl! ;
Also on HuffPost: ;
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17 Ways Amandla Stenberg Flawlessly Exemplified Black Girl Magic
