We stand on the backs of Black history … arched spines, scarred skin and names pressed into the soil so future generations could rise without chains on their ankles. These backs remember slavery, they remember 1619, and they remember 1885, when freedom had a date, but justice still refused to arrive. They carried lies dressed as law, racism disguised as policy and violence justified as order, all while being told to endure quietly.
We stood on the backs of Harriet Tubman, who bent low so others could stand tall; Frederick Douglass, whose spine carried words heavier than whips; and Sojourner Truth, who carried truth even when truth was dangerous. We stand on the backs of Rosa Parks, whose refusal shook a nation; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose back absorbed hatred so his voice could dream; Malcolm X, who stood upright when silence was demanded; and leaders like Medgar Evers, John Lewis, and Fannie Lou Hamer, beaten, criticized, lied on, and still committed to our liberation.
These backs remember water hoses and bruised ribs, police dogs feeding on fear and jails memorizing Black names. They remember being called lazy while building a country for free, being labeled violent while surviving violence daily, and being promised equality that never reached our neighborhoods. Racism followed us through Jim Crow, through lynch ropes and burning crosses, through classrooms that erased us and systems that blamed us for their own design.
We stand on the backs of years like 1995, when prisons replaced plantations and statistics tried to summarize Black souls. We stand on the backs of people whose bodies became currency for systems that never loved them. And still, those same backs lifted hope high enough for a Black president — President Barack Obama — to stand, carrying the weight of history, racism, criticism and the burden of being “the first” in a nation still learning how to respect Black excellence.
So, when we stand, we stand carefully and gratefully, knowing our breath was paid for in bruises. These backs were never broken — they became the foundation. History of Black history is bent but unbowed, scarred but sacred and we are still standing because they refused to lay down.
Ree Cheers is a passionate Human Services Advocate with over 26 years of experience serving communities in Nashville, Tennessee. Ree currently provides services for SOAR, SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).