Through the decades, there have been different types of social issues that affect many people. “The personal is political” was a popular feminist cry originating from civil rights movements of the 1960s, called attention to daily lives in order to see greater social issues on our society. This quote can relate back to many social issues that still occur till this day that many people are opposed of. One of the major social issues that still exist today, for example, is discrimination against colored people. In Javon Johnson’s poem, “Cuz He’s Black,” he discusses how discrimination affects many people, especially little kids because they are growing up fearing people who are supposed to protect us. Johnson effectively uses similes, dialogue …show more content…
Johnson mentions his nephew that is only four years old, who is growing up to be terrified of the police. Johnson captured the moment when his nephew exclaims: “Oh man, Uncle 5-0, we gotta hide” (Line 28). The term 5-0 is another reference for cops. The dialogue Johnson uses with his nephew shows the fear this little kid has with the police. Why should a little kid have to be afraid of the police at such a young age? Society is teaching the little kids that they should be afraid of the police because of all the brutality they have caused against black people over the years. As a child, the majority of the time they grow up fearing the police. However, as they grow up they start to feel hatred against the police because of what they make their people go through. They feel as though they have to make a stand and let it be enough with the treatment they get. The dialogue Johnson shows helps emphasize the damage that the police has against people especially the little kids. Kids should do nothing but admire the police because they are supposed to be heroes. However, due to the circumstances of how they treat colored people, they have kids who are in fear of …show more content…
In the poem, he mentions black people that were treated unfairly and how many of those people are not recognized as much. He powerfully wrote: “Names lost. Know too many Trayvon Martins / Oscar Grants / and Abner Louimas, know too many / Sean Bells, and Amadou Diallos / Know too well that we are the hard-boiled sons of Emmett Till” (Lines 53-60). This quote shows how many of our black people are discriminated by their skin color are mistreated. Abner Louimas, Sean Bells and Amadou Diallos were men that were victims of police brutality and were shot several times by police officers. Specifically, Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin’s deaths were great examples as to how people were and still are racist. To take a case in point, Emmett Till who was African-American was tortured and killed because he flirted with a white woman. Trayvon Martin was a teenager who was shot and killed just because he went to grab a bag of skittles from his pocket, which the person who shot him thought he was reaching for a weapon. The many examples that Johnson makes help show how racism and stereotypes play a major role in our society because many people are still victims of discrimination. They are automatically stereotyped into a criminal who is about to do something that is illegal. In the society that we live in, blacks do not have any power, they do not get the benefit of the doubt whether or not
Johnson begins his poem on behalf of the hardships of African Americans by acknowledging that after all the Africans hardships and pain they’ve been through, they are on the verge of freedom as long as they stick together. The way Johnson uses diction to show his audience how to face hardships with unity, is by the use of the strong phrases or words used. Johnson implies, “Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,” (28), and “Out from the gloomy past, Till now we stand at last.”(19-20). The outpour of emotions with the use of strong diction words in that quote, informs the reader that as long as we the people
The world can often be a difficult place, especially for those who refuse to fall within the norms. The memoir Black Boy by Richard Wright tells his story growing up in a world that fights against him, and the willpower that he has to push forward and fight right back. Throughout the novel, Wright builds upon several concepts to demonstrate the struggles and challenges that he faced while growing in a world where the odds were against him. Richard Wright explores racism (1), literature (2), and religion (3) to reveal the inner strength and willpower that he gains after overcoming the discrimination in the society he lives in, but with the realization that some battles cannot be won.
Anthony Johnson’s story is significant because he was a free black man, accumulating property, and being treated by any white planter. He had wanted his share separated, making him just as free as any other man. This is also relevant because it shows how before, African Americans had just as much freedom as whites.
Because of that, his writing seems to manifest a greater meaning. He is part of the African-American race that is expressed in his writing. He writes about how he is currently oppressed, but this does not diminish his hope and will to become the equal man. Because he speaks from the point of view of an oppressed African-American, the poem’s struggles and future changes seem to be of greater importance than they ordinarily would. The point of view of being the oppressed African American is clearly evident in Langston Hughes’s writing.
Discrimination and prejudice actions in American society is prominent with no hint of extinction. In the book “Sông I Sing” by Bao Phi, he depicts and highlights racism in his poems. The poet outlines stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination along with reference to white privilege. This two time Minnesota slam champion injects his passionate feelings of his views of other people into his poems. He advocates that racism shouldn’t exist in American society. Bao Phi is semi descriptive on the stories and brings his poems alive to visualize the content through words. This poet illustrates the effects of prejudice on people in American society who do not feel freedom based on skin color. All of his poems are deemed excellent not just because Phi
...is presented in a way that “blacks or whites can draw admonition from the subject” (1) . Another perspective from Revell is that the poem presents itself in terms of passionate personal regret. Revell believes that Dunbar felt guilty because he allowed himself to be bound to the “ plantation lifestyle” (1). The plantation life style internal anguish and agony the blacks went through as slaves. Some blacks have moved on from it, but some continue to use slavery as an excuse to not progress in life. It should be noted that Revell draws the most attention to the middle of the poem. The poem itself is masked because it never specifically says who its linked too, even though most would infer that it is linked to the black race. Revell concludes that Dunbar left aside the preconceived image of what it meant to be black in America, and spoke “only from his heart” (1) .
In 1963, inequality was everywhere, but the fight to stop it was stronger than ever. This very year, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put into jail, fighting for equality. Using this situation to his advantage, he wrote a letter that would change America forever, this was “The Letter From Birmingham Jail”. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. uses figurative language, such as metaphors and analogies, to appeal to the spectators from an emotional point of view, and he uses an urgent tone to make his text relatable and to show its important so people will want to join in his movement.
In his essay, his writes “One day one of a the group Irish kids passing through our block called me a n*****” and he also writes“The murder of light-skinned Emmet Till made me feel like a real Negro”. Even though he didn’t feel he could identify with being either white or black and wasn’t offend when called he was called a n*****. It wasn’t till something as cruel as the Emmet Till murder, that opened his eyes to the reality of things. He writes how he felt like a feel real Negro because of it, and I feel he means that he had a reality check and the differences he saw between him and other blacks like him dancing like an animated tin man and not speaking Ebonics meant nothing and regardless of all that, he was black in the eyes of the Euros(as he would call them). None of those things mattered to Euros and they didn’t care about how you spoke. They didn’t care if you were a good person or if you were of a light complexion. Only one thing mattered to the Euros, and that was your skin color, black was black to them.
Brent Staples and Richard Rodriguez’s autobiographical essays both start out with a problem, but they deal with it in different ways. Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By” deals with the issue of racism and social judgment he faces because he is African-American, while Rodriguez’s essay “Complexion,” details the self-hatred and shame he felt in his childhood because of his skin color. Both of these essays deal with race, appearance, and self-acceptance, but the authors write about them in different ways. When looking at the similarities and differences together, the points of these essays have a much stronger message about how to deal with discrimination.
The poem also focuses on what life was like in the sixties. It tells of black freedom marches in the South how they effected one family. It told of how our peace officers reacted to marches with clubs, hoses, guns, and jail. They were fierce and wild and a black child would be no match for them. The mother refused to let her child march in the wild streets of Birmingham and sent her to the safest place that no harm would become of her daughter.
He mentioned the incident in Selma, Alabama, and he stated, “One good man, a man of God, was killed” (Johnson 1). He explained the situation and gave many other statements about the amount of hatred that was still around at the time. He presents to the citizens that he was concerned about everyone no matter of race, gender, or religion. Throughout the speech, Lyndon Johnson reminds the nation that he wanted to solve the problem with the nation together. He sees the racial discrimination not only as injustice, but is also denied America and dishonor the people who gave their lives for the freedom of America (Johnson 2). By doing this, he persuaded the people with emotions and wanted them to support his idea of the civil rights, which promised everyone the right to register to vote without having any
The theme throughout the two poems "A Black Man Talks of Reaping" and "From the Dark Tower" is the idea that African American live in an unjust
For example, his poem Sympathy illustrates the persistence of the black community to get their voice heard in regards to receiving justness, and because progressives were focused mainly on the white community,
...ites a short 33-line poem that simply shows the barriers between races in the time period when racism was still openly practiced through segregation and discrimination. The poem captures the African American tenant’s frustrations towards the landlord as well as the racism shown by the landlord. The poem is a great illustration of the time period, and it shows how relevant discrimination was in everyday life in the nineteen-forties. It is important for the author to use the selected literary devices to help better illustrate his point. Each literary device in the poem helps exemplify the author’s intent: to increase awareness of the racism in the society in the time period.
The poem send this message with a sad and dark tone. The tone is really important in this poem because it makes the poem more depression and dark. The speaker of this poem uses a depression and sad emotion to discuss this poem. The speaker of the poem and the tone of the poem both make the poem sound intense and very heart breaking to hear that in the past people were treated differently just because of their skin color. Also, the poem really sends out the message that racism is a horrible thing and how brutal and disgusting that people will treat others with disrespect because of their skin color. This poem relates to history because the poem was written when racism was a big problem in society. I think that this poem was a big help to stop