The collective "you" the speaker addresses in the poem are white people—and in particular, white racists—who have tried to hold Black people down. The poet is addressing such people in a defiant, joyful, and triumphant poem about Black female empowerment. White people are the poem's overt audience and are addressed directly. However, the celebratory and defiant notes are aimed as well at other Black women. The speaker is a representative of all of them, and she reaches out to them as she describes their experience.

From the beginning, the speaker uses withering words to address the white people who have tried to destroy her and others like her:

You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.