It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day, folks, and, of course, we wouldn’t let today pass us by without providing you with the absolute perfect playlist to kick start your Monday! In celebration of MLK and all of the work he’s done during the Civil Rights Movement, we’ve compiled an empowering playlist full of songs that were created by powerful black artists, both past and present.

Not only are the songs on this playlist by black musicians, but each song we’ve chosen also includes themes of freedom and equality, which, after all, is what this day is all about. Without further ado, we’d like to invite you to take a second today to think about the wonderful accomplishments of MLK during his lifetime, and to bump this playlist in celebration of how far we’ve come, even if we still have ways to go.