Misty Copeland: A life in motion 

Misty Copeland is a professional dancer who faced many struggles due racial barriers in her professional career. Credit: Associated Press by Tawanda W. Johnson& Special to the& AFRO Misty Copeland knows firsthand what it’s like to struggle to fit in the predominately white world of ballet. She fought against being criticized for having a curvy body and pushed back on being told to lighten her skin for a dance role.& Despite those struggles, Copeland, who became the first Black female principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre in 2015, said ballet has allowed her to be “seen and heard.”& & Misty Copeland the first Black woman to be named a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. Credit: AFRO Photo/ James Fields During an appearance at the Enoch Pratt Free Library last year, she explained that becoming a ballerina was an identity that she fully embraced.& “Coming from a single parent… didn’t always feel like there was a lot of hope… always made me feel like an individual,” she told the audience. “It was something that I worked for. It became my own.” Copeland said she grew up as a “very shy, introverted” person, but dance provided a way out...