And, there’s more where that came from.
Beth Pearson, This Is Us
She is one of those women who strives really hard to balance it all: having a career; being an amazing, fierce, and supportive mom; and being a wonderful wife. I love her sass and humor, and I especially love her vulnerability. I can never stop thinking about that time she broke down after William’s death, claiming her own grief and need for comfort. Beth Pearson is the kind of person I really look up to.
—anoukvanderz
NBC
Miranda Bailey, Grey’s Anatomy
Miranda Bailey is an all-powerful goddess of medicine that knows no bounds! Her character also brought attention to the lack of awareness for mental health in the black community. After her diagnosis, she did not back down. She continued to kick butt while managing her OCD. —hannahvictoriag
ABC
Jessica Pearson, Suits
She’s honestly the best TV role model for any black woman going into the corporate world. She manages her private life quietly, commands respect from her employees, and lets everyone know she’ll always be the HBIC. Plus, her outfits and confidence are always 10/10! —job16
USA
Heather Davis, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
She doesn’t care what people think about her, and she just does what she thinks is best for her. She went from not having a clue about what to do with her life to getting an awesome promotion at work (which she demanded in a respectful and powerful way), becoming a surrogate for a friend who desperately wanted a baby, and becoming more serious with her boyfriend. I really admire her.
—emilyd41b36b9de
The CW
Olivia Pope, Scandal
She is a fearless, brave, and absolutely badass black woman. She never takes no for an answer and will do anything for the people she loves, even though it can get her into trouble. Women like her in television make me proud of my black heritage. —elenabrightstar
ABC
Cookie Lyon, Empire
Her life and family is messed up, but she handles it so well. Cookie came from nothing, but fought to make something of her life. Plus, Taraji plays her so well.
—s4bb472acb
Fox
Annalise Keating, How to Get Away with Murder
Viola Davis is beyond incredible, and I love a female character that is neither the untouchable pure light of good, nor the epitome of evil. Annalise is complex — she has huge flaws, but also an incredible amount of strength. She has given me so much strength when dealing with dismissive and demeaning men in the work place. If following my gut and advocating for myself means that I’m considered a bitch, I’ll take being a bitch alllll day, every day. —hannamcg
ABC
Issa Dee, Insecure
I love Issa! Every black woman portrayed on TV doesn’t have to be strong, sassy, and confident. I love that she’s awkward, emotionally immature at times, and a little ratchet. It’s refreshingly relatable to watch her make mistakes and grow as a woman. It’s like watching my 20s. —Resa Leigh, Facebook
HBO
Raven Baxter, That’s So Raven
She brought issues like eating disorders front and center, and she embraced body positivity, which was hard to find back in the day. —bethanyp4c7450957
Disney
Freddie Brooks, A Different World
What I liked about Freddie is that she was always true to herself and didn’t have any problem whatsoever with being quirky and unique. She didn’t bow to social pressures to change who she was. She always stood up for herself and what she believed to be right. —Matty Cormier, Facebook
Carsey-werner Co / ©Carsey-Werner Co/Courtesy Everett Collection
Rainbow Johnson, Black-ish
There isn’t much representation on TV for biracial girls and she does a great job of showing what it’s actually like to be us. (The episode “Being Bow-racial” is AMAZING.) —courtneyp4f7fa31ce
ABC
Mary Jane Paul, Being Mary Jane
She’s a powerful black woman whose career is front and center and in the public eye, unlike a lot of other strong women on TV who work mostly behind-the-scenes. She’s classy, sophisticated, and is unashamed of making her career the priority in her life. —shylawatson
BET
Van Keefer, Atlanta
I hope they develop her character more in Season 2, but every appearance she had in Season 1 just showed what a strong, independent, single-ish mom she is…plus, Zazie Beetz is a QUEEN. —gambinobabydoll
FX
Maeve Millay, Westworld
She does whatever she wants — breaking every rule in the park — and is just an all-around badass. Even if at the end it’s revealed that her choices weren’t actually hers, and just part of her programming, that doesn’t take away from how cool she is throughout the season. Also, in her final scene she makes her first real choice: choosing to save her daughter even if she knows that their relationship isn’t real, proving that emotions are stronger than reason. —hannahcanela
HBO
The cast of Living Single
The whole cast was great, but Synclaire especially. When I was a kid, some boy called me Synclaire as an insult, but now I have no problem with it. She was kind of spacey, but she was the heart of the group.
—iwantmypinkshirtback
Fox
Bonnie Bennett, The Vampire Diaries
She basically saved everyone’s asses hundreds of time, AND took on literal hellfire. Need I say more? —isabels47690e7dd
The CW
Donna Meagle, Parks and Recreation
She knows what she wants and she goes for it. She never puts anybody’s happiness over her own. She is confident and iconic! —erikatheelvenqueen
NBC
Dr. Martha Jones, Doctor Who
She was strong, smart, and independent. Also, when she realized that the Doctor wasn’t going to return her feelings, she left him and did what was best for her own happiness. —damnitno
BBC
Jodie Landon, Daria
As minorities, she and her boyfriend were constantly aware of the image they had to portray. And the amount of stress she was under to prove herself over and over again was obvious. Jodie gave me my first understanding of how easy I had it growing up white. —andip4
MTV
Anissa Pierce, Black Lightning
She’s the first black lesbian superhero on TV. Even though she is literally powerful because she has superpowers, she’s also emotionally powerful. Her city is completely controlled by gangs and crime lords, and she’s always participating and organizing protests and rallies. And once she discovers her powers, she uses them to fight for what’s right. As a queer woman myself, Anissa inspires me a lot. —spacegirlryn
The CW
Poussey Washington, Orange is the New Black
She’s hella dynamic — she’s a big soft nerd, but also a total badass. She wasn’t ashamed of who she was, she was open-minded, she was intensely loyal to her friends…even when they weren’t there for her, and she didn’t let anyone or anything stop her shine. She deserved better. —jalissaj
Netflix
Aunt Viv, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
The original Aunt Viv was beautiful, strong, smart AF, and the first really DARK-skinned woman I looked up to. —thelms
NBC
The Pussycats, Riverdale
When Valerie briefly left the group, Josie was adamant that they replaced her with a woman of color, so it’s obvious that they’re trying to convey a message with their image. Josie is a firecracker who never lets her troubles at home shatter her confidence, and Valerie dumped Archie the minute he stopped appreciating her. These ladies are fantastic and very underrated!
—shylawatson
The CW
Michonne, The Walking Dead
She is the definition of badass. She doesn’t have to worry about guys taking care of her and helping her. She can take care of own damn self. —fobfan2011
AMC
Clair Huxtable, The Cosby Show
A strong, educated, sophisticated, loving, intelligent, beautiful, and inspiring black woman, and a great mother. Seeing someone like this during the ’80s was groundbreaking. —jenniferw49056ecf7
NBC
Zoey Johnson, Black-ish and Grown-ish
Not only is she ridiculously fashionable, but her spin-off has given her more room to grow outside of her cool oldest-sibling persona on Black-ish.
—faithisadancerfao
Freeform
Iris West, The Flash
She’s just great. She plays a strong black female character, she’s a main character on the show, she’s a badass, and she’s an overall role model. —woolyw2
The CW
The cast of Girlfriends
This was my Sex and the City growing up. —jamiec46cf21396
The CW
Lisa Landry, Sister, Sister
She was just the realest. —aliciab4844d195d
ABC
Claire Temple, Luke Cage
All those heroes would be completely screwed and/or dead ten times over without her. She’s the most non-super superhero ever, and I love her for it.
—julied43c2eec1c
Netflix
Gina Waters, Martin
She was my idol growing up! She was fabulous, smart, strong, professional, and didn’t take any of Martin’s crap. She also loved him ferociously and was down to be silly when she wanted to. —dariav45d8bfc94
Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Co
Dena Jackson, Red Band Society
She was a badass nurse, loyal to her patients, and even got suspended for going out of her way to protect patients who couldn’t speak/defend themselves. She was just an all around queen. Bonus points that she was played by Octavia Spencer. —jazzykareana
Fox
Athena Grant, 9-1-1
She’s a hell of a mom and an equally amazing cop. —fillionfan4002
Fox
Bonnie Carslon, Big Little Lies
She is so stylishly calm in different situations, and also a badass because…you know. —mirayakincic
HBO
Tasha Mack, The Game
She was brilliant, complex, sincere, and a mother who fought for her son. She is an under-appreciated modern-day do-it-all mom! —mariv43f46ae5a
BET
Claudette Wyms, The Shield
She was strong, complex, smarter than all of the men, and had insane amounts of wisdom and guts. —jenm47faa724d
FX
Missy, Big Mouth
She’s smart, eccentric, and not afraid to be herself. —leggerz
Netflix
Taystee Jefferson, Orange is the New Black
Strong, smart, kind, and a leader. —exlibris00
Netflix
Unique Adams, Glee
A transgender diva who can singgggggg! —oreolover848
Fox
Tracey Gordon, Chewing Gum
I love her! Michaela Coel is simply brilliant. — Muriel Lovo, Facebook
Netflix
Zoë Washburne, Firefly
She has always been one of my favorite characters ever. The amount of strength and patience she exhibits is amazing, as is the love she shows. —leighw405864945
Fox
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.