On February 21, 1933, the iconic singer and activist Eunice Kathleen Waymon, known as Nina Simon was born. She would’ve turned 89 today.

Not only was she a fantastic artist, but she was also a revolutionary in her own right.

When she released her song, Mississippi Goddam, in reaction to the murder of Medgar Evers and an Alabama church explosion that murdered four children in 1963, it was deemed offensive by the authorities and was banned.

The following is said to have been her words:

“An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”

She has always been quoted as saying:

“We never talked about men or clothes. It was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution – real girl’s talk.”

Happy birthday to the High Priestess of Soul.