View From a Pew: Still Standing… Still Creating… Still Peaceful

When I stop and really think about everything we as African Americans have been through in this country… I’m honestly surprised we are as peaceful as we are.

Because history tells a different story. A people stolen from their homeland… stripped of language, family, culture and identity… forced to build a nation that refused to see their humanity — and yet somehow, generation after generation, we kept producing brilliance. Not bitterness. Brilliance.

Look around this world today. Everybody copies African American culture. The music. The fashion. The slang. The rhythm. The creativity. The influence. The cool. But too often, the respect doesn’t travel with the imitation. And that’s the irony. Because while some tried to erase our contributions from textbooks, they could never erase them from reality.

The GPS technology helping people find their way? Advanced imaging developed through the work of a Black woman’s innovation. Laser eye surgery advancements — influenced by the research of a Black woman scientist. The escalator. Improvements to elevators. The roller coaster that thrills millions every year — Black ingenuity. Modern video gaming? Jerry Lawson opened that door decades ago. Home security systems protecting families today? Marie Van Brittan Brown saw the future in 1966 before most people even imagined it. Open-heart surgery techniques. Blood plasma preservation through Dr. Charles Drew. Surgical tools still used in operating rooms across the world.

Innovation after innovation. Creation after creation. Contribution after contribution. And many times… credit delayed or denied. Yet here we are. Still thriving. Still building. Still educating. Still rising.

Black women — the very women once experimented on without anesthesia — now hold some of the highest levels of educational attainment in America. Think about that. From exploitation to excellence. From survival to scholarship. That doesn’t happen by accident. That happens because resilience runs deep in our DNA.

Cities burned. Families separated. Votes suppressed. Doors closed. Opportunities delayed. And still… we created culture that moves the world. Still… we invented solutions that save lives. Still… we found ways to laugh, worship, sing, build businesses, raise children, and believe in tomorrow.

That kind of strength doesn’t come from anger. It comes from purpose. See, peace is not weakness. Peace is discipline. Peace is knowing who you are even when the world pretends not to know your value. Because the truth is — you cannot copy a people whose strength was forged in struggle. You can imitate the style… but you cannot duplicate the spirit.

So the next time someone questions the contribution of African Americans, remind them of this. After slavery… segregation… stolen credit… closed doors… and generations of being told we were less than — African Americans still helped invent the very world everyone lives in today. Everybody wants the rhythm. Everybody copies the culture. Everybody benefits from the genius. But respect still seems negotiable. Understand this though… A people who could build greatness while chained… educate themselves when it was illegal… invent while excluded… and rise while being pushed down — are not a people you erase. We are proof that pressure creates power. After everything meant to break us… we didn’t become bitter. We became brilliant. And the coldest part about it? We still chose peace.

Now imagine what happens when peace finally meets full respect.