My freshman year of high school, my mom checked me out one afternoon (rare!!) and I ended up at a small CD store. I looked through the options, ogling 90s R&B joints and unapologetically side-eyeing shit I was not tryna hear. I found myself holding Lauryn Hill’s first and only studio effort, and I remember feeling a special attachment to the often honored body of work.

I ended up buying the LP, but was faced with the fact that it was 2009 and I didn’t have a CD player. So the CD rested in the DVD player and served as my daily encouragement for weeks on end. It was during this time that I learned how to be the type of Black woman I am right now. Hill spoke about God, control, love, and society and lifted me up in the process. She came to represent power and intellect; two things that WOC are crucified for possessing.

Lauryn Hill is important to Black History Month because she inspired so many people to stand up and think. Think about American ideologies. Think about their relationships. Think about their roles. She inspired a wave of people to love unconditionally and put her soul on the line through her music. I’ve never heard anyone like her before. Lauryn Hill is Black History.