“Ain’t I a woman?” Four powerful words, two famous phrases–the former displayed on pickets in marches around Memphis in 1968, the latter spoken by the fiery Sojourner Truth in 1851–hold the key to Black people’s ongoing struggles around the world. The recognition of our humanity has, at best, been optional in America. At its worst, the struggle to be seen as fully human has left our bodies lynched–beaten, burned and broken. Though these phrases come from by-gone eras, they remain essential and relevant to our present and future. Let us take a few moments to understand why such simple phrases have such potency, why they engender such emotion and how Black people around the world can use them to recover their agency after we have suffered ongoing physical, psychological and political violence.