Starting from the late 1700’s until the mid 1900’s was a difficult time for the African American community. People were dying for no specific reason, there were no jobs’ and the life conditions were very harsh. The Analyzing of two different poems A Black Man Talks of Reaping by Arna Bontemps and A Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes helps us better understand the difficulties in Harlem during the 19th century. The comparison of the similarities and differences between both creates a solid and experienced idea for the reader to understand. The fact that in one poem the author ‘speaks’ and the other one the author ‘talks’ can prove different experiences that these authors have lived trough. Both poems use specific examples and comparisons to give a global image of Harlem in the 1900’s.…
"Long Black Song" narrative highlights several themes by exposure of the characters in different arenas or acts. The characters: Sarah, sila who is Sarah’s husband Tom and many other small characters reveal the themes of: racism, immorality, race superiority, and marriage betrayal. However betrayal is best highlighted by the characters. The story employs the use of the color of ones skin to interpret different circumstances…
On April 16th, 1963, during the peak of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote to a collection of clergymen in regards to his beliefs and protests. In his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” King aptly wrote to the clergymen about their concerns in a respectful manner, while maintaining his dignity and explaining his purpose. In order to validate his points, he first built his credibility, and from there flowed into a plethora of other strategies. His emotional anecdotes and insight are strong points in his letter, appealing to the clergymen’s sense of compassion and justice. The imagery that accompanies his writing creates vivid and horrifying scenes meant to encourage the reader to join King in his civil rights endeavors. Logically, King presents his values in a manner that becomes inarguable against, which furthers the persuasive value of his writing. His…
America in the 1960’s was far from what the Great Emancipator idealized when he issued a declaration in which all slaves were granted their unconditional freedom. Society lived in contradiction to the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Supreme Law of the Land, deliberately putting barriers on the Black vote and implementing the ‘Jim Crow Laws’. United States was polarized, no doubt, and the Black community was the target of segregation and inequality. Blacks everywhere suffered from inhumane treatment, violence and poverty. In that Dark Age of American ‘Civil Rights’ a man rose to be a city on a hill, a light in the dark. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rose to fight injustice and oppression, not with violence, but with words and pacific demonstration. In his famous speech “ I Have a Dream” Dr. King affirms the urgency of the African Americans to obtain what for so long has been denied to them. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” justifies and validates not only his presence in Alabama, but also the actions of the Civil Rights Movement to the clergymen who wrote the newspaper article “ A Call for Unity”. In both his speech and his letter King employs Biblical allusion, emotional appeal and imagery, of which the last mentioned is most appropriate for a speech.…
In April of 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King was thrown into jail for standing up for the unjust segregation laws that were in place at that time. It was during the time he was condemned to jail that he wrote a letter, which is known today as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In this letter, King respectfully expresses his thoughts on the segregation laws that prevented African Americans equal rights. Throughout the letter he graciously disagrees with other’s degrading opinions, and continues to stand for what is right regardless of the consequences. Leading with love and respect for others, he created tension peacefully. King clearly illustrates his points by including three critical rhetorical appeals -ethos, logos, and pathos.…
“Society knows perfectly well how to kill a man and has methods more subtle than death”(Andre Gride) Through out the 1930’s, the Jim Crow era was commencing within the south which lead to the great numbers in Blacks that were being suppressed. Black Boy by Richard Wright demonstrates all the obstacles that he has to overcome in his childhood. Black Boy introduces Richard as a child facing violence, racism and the low self-esteem that is depicted by the people around him. Richard moves from place to place, trying to find the ideal place where he can feel comfortable. Yet life seems as though it always gives the cold shoulder to Richards dream, constantly being silenced by hatred and…
In the long struggle for equal citizen’s rights for African Americans, many influential leaders arose to protest the injustice. Among the many brave speakers stands Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech, concluding the March on Washington for African American equality. In this well-known speech, Dr. King employs numerous rhetorical strategies throughout as he describes his powerful view on African American oppression by its own society and equal rights. King uses effective rhetorical devices such as metaphors, antanagoges, parallelism, and allusions to convey the negative effects social oppression has on Blacks and the necessity for a simple remedy: equality in American society.…
The works of Child of the America’s by Aurora Levins Morales and What It’s Like to be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t) by Patricia Smith was because of the direct contrast of the statements “I am whole” in Morales poem verses “…and feeling like you’re not finished” in Smith’s poem. Both statements in these poems are strong, stating a completion of a human soul and both poems are in agreement that race is a part of the completion to the human soul. Levins Morales’ poem explains what it is really like to be of mixed race in America. Smith’s poem gives a deep, more individual approach of what it is like to be a black girl. Race is a background for both poems.…
“Slaveship,” by Lucille Clifton, is a free verse poem from the perspective of slaves that the white men capture and trade in the slave trade, forcing them to travel on the Middle Passage. Ironically, the ships bear the names of religious symbols and figures such as Jesus, Angel of God, and Grace of God (lines 14-15) even though the act of slavery is one of the most sinful systems in the eyes of these slaves and in the eyes of all decent human beings.…
Imagine your family “smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society” (King). How would you feel? Would you rebel so that your family can have what they need? Martin Luther King, the famous civil rights spokesperson and leader known for his civil disobedience. Talking about the extreme mistreatment that people of color receive makes his audience interested. He was bringing great justice to the african-americans by speaking up about the issue, since everyone knew this was wrong but no one was ever brave enough . Martin Luther King included a large variety of rhetorical appeals in his “Letter From Birmingham jail,” The two most effective ones are polysyndeton and pathos because they force the reader to consider the consequences about the discrimination and overwhelming hatred towards the african-americans while also making…
Organic poetry generally seems to be the most common type of poetry. To me, they are the easiest to come by, but aren’t always the easiest to understand simply because they are taken straight from random thoughts of the poet and jotted down on paper, a napkin, or any kind of canvas available to that poet. Although they don’t have much planning and are difficult to decipher, it is possible. When Patricia Smith wrote “What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (for Those of You Who Aren’t)” (854) she was simply telling us about her experiences in life as she grew up. She may not spell out everything she is saying, but expects the reader to pick up on it. This tendency is also carried out in “Surprise” (899) and “Summer Words…
Freedom's Children, a book taking place throughout the civil rights movement, shows the pain and stuggle that African Americans had to endure simply because of the color of their skin. In the text, thirty African-Americans who were either young children or growing teenagers give their first hand accounts of racial discrimination. Using information from the first hand accounts of participants in famous struggles that took place in Arkansas, Alabama, and Mississippi, Levine, the author, is able to put together a novel that is powerful and eye-opening. Levine seeks out African Americans who were children at the time of the Civil Right Movement, and asks about their experiences with segregation and racism and how they dealt with it. They…
Yolanda Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni is one of the world’s most renowned black poets, as well as an author, commentator, writer, and educator. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, raised in Cincinnati, Giovanni has been an involved activist and writer since the early 1960s. After leaving high school in the eleventh grade, she entered the historically black Fisk University where she graduated with a BA in History in 1967. During her time at Fisk, Giovanni became a major activist in the Black Arts Movement, a loose coalition of African American intellectuals who wrote politically and artistically radical poems aimed at raising awareness of black rights and promoting the struggle for racial equality (Fowler). She also became one of the leading poets in the Black Power wing of activists. Also while at Fisk, she led the organizing of the civil rights organization, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (Ward). After graduation, Giovanni entered graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, and later, Columbia University.…
Throughout history America has always battled issues with race. Whether it was slaves fighting for freedom, African Americans struggling for equality or today’s issue of illegal immigrants, race in America is a constant evolving subject. With the struggles of these people have come many inspiring works of literature, each voicing the same message of freedom and equality. In the famous speeches of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King Jr. and the writings of former slaves each share similarities and differences between the ways in which they are written, presented, their message, and how their audience responded to their words. Each speech and writing shook the people who heard it and helped change and make history. These powerful works of literature are a true inspiration, without them our world would not be the same.…
Through his vivid descriptions, passionate tone, and expressive examples, King’s arguments evoke an emotional response in his readers. King’s use of pathos gives him the ability to inspire fellow civil rights activists, evoke empathy in white conservatives, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergymen and the rest of his national audience. King seeks to lessen the aggression of white citizens while revitalizing the passion for nonviolent protest in the minds of African Americans. King cautions, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King ), and African Americans must stand up for their rights. As King describes the horrors African Americans endure on a daily basis, he attempts to evoke an empathetic response in white conservatives. He wants his readers to imagine and understand the pain and humiliation of the ill treatment that African Americans endured. King writes of vicious mobs lynching people’s mothers and fathers, policemen killing people’s brothers and sisters, a man and his wife not receiving the proper respect they deserve because of their skin color, and the notion that African Americans feel insignificant within their…