In the simplistic yet meaningful poem entitled “Ballad of Birmingham” written by Dudley Randall, a young girl and her mother are living in segregated Alabama during the 1960’s. The author gives a poetic account of the bombing that took place at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. By using imagery and irony, Randall was able to depict what living in constant fear was like for the average African American. Dudley Randall was born on January 14, 1914 in Washington D.C. and he published his first poem in the Detroit Free Press at the mere age of thirteen (“Dudley Randall: 1914-2000”). Per Wayne State University, “In 1943, Randall […] was drafted into the U.S. Army, and served his duty in the South Pacific until the end of …show more content…
WWII ("Dudley Randall: 1914-2000.") Having the experience of war and living in a time where being black was shunned upon, it influenced him in writing these well-thought out pieces of literature. When taking a first glance at the title, one could only assume that the poem is going to be a sweet song-like poem that depicts some sort of story. It is unlikely to assume that this piece of literature would turn out to be an unfortunate tale about a woman losing her own child to white supremacists in a church bombing (cite) The few first lines of Randall’s poem read: Mother dear, may I go downtown Instead of out to play, And march the streets of Birmingham In a Freedom March today? (line 1-4) When reading the piece, the reader should notice that the poem takes place in the 1960’s when Jim Crow Laws made racial segregation legal (cite).
It was also the time period when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was making his speeches and rallies across America. Many African-Americans took part in freedom marches to get their point across that they wanted rights and equality. When the attack took place on (date), it caused the deaths of four young black girls (cite). Randall transcribed his sorrow into words to spread a message, “[he] reminds the audience of what is at stake in the struggle for civil rights--no sanctuary, no respect for innocence, the potential for violent resistance not just to social change, but even to the presence, new or continued, of blacks in community with whites” ( …show more content…
Miller). Once the reader has an idea of what time period the story takes place in, Randall introduces the mother as she responds to her child: No, baby, no, you may not go, For the dogs are fierce and wild, And clubs and hoses, guns and jails Aren’t good for a little child (line 5-8) When Randall uses the lines, “For the dogs are fierce and wild / And clubs and hoses, guns and jails”, he is referencing the police. At the time, police brutality was a huge issue especially during freedom marches. The mother was worried for her child’s safety because she knew the “dogs”, or police, would potentially bring about some violence. Randall creates an image in the reader’s brain, one should be able to picture the police with clubs in their hands ready to strike. The imagery portrayed shows how cruel people were to African-Americans. In the fourth stanza, the mother tells her daughter that she cannot march in the rally and she should go to the church children’s choir instead for her safety. Randall uses irony here because of course the mother did not know the church would not be safe for her child. When one thinks of a church, it seems sacred and a place where nothing could go wrong. In the stanza it reads: No, baby, no, you may not go, For I fear those guns will fire. But you may go to church instead And sing in the children’s choir (lines 13-16) The irony of the situation is that the woman thought her child would be safer going to sing in the children’s choir but instead it caused the young girl to be placed in danger.
Randall slowly begins to change direction in the story, once stanza seven approaches, the reader might begin to realize how the ending will turn out. The woman hears an explosion go off and she fears for the life of her daughter as it says: For when she heard the explosion, Her eyes grew wet and wild. She raced through the streets of Birmingham Calling for her child (lines 21-24) Readers can picture an image in their mind of a mother calling a name of a child as she searches through rubble, hearing the screams of the victim. This is the image Dudley Randell was trying to project. He wants his readers to realize how serious segregation is and what the world is turning into. In the last stanza, the child’s fate fades away as she happens to be one of the victims of the church bombing. Randall chose to leave the reader, with the thoughts of the mother. The last few lines of the last stanza read: She clawed through bits of glass and brick, Then lifted out a shoe. O, here’s the shoe my baby wore, But, baby, where are you?
(25-28) Leaving the readers hanging, gives the opportunity for a message to be heard. Randall wanted the audience to be left in shock of what happened to an innocent, pure little girl in Birmingham. He wanted to prove that there is no safe place in an evil world only a loss of innocence and racial progress.
Dudley Randall was born on January 19, 1914 in Washington D.C. and died on August 2, 2000 in Southfield, Michigan. His mother Ada Viloa was a teacher and his father Arthur George Clyde Randall was a Congregational minister. His father was very much into politics because of that Dudley and his brother would listen to prominent black speakers. When Randall was about nine years old he and his family move to Detroit, Michigan in 1920. By the time he was thirteen he had his first poem published in the Detroit Free Press. At the age of sixteen he had graduated from high school.
In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the horrible acts of violence that were committed by the white students against her and her friends.
King reminds the reader that racial injustices engulf the community by stating, “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the united states. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatments in the courts. There have been many bombings of Negro homes and Churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are hard, brutal facts.”
The historical context of the book is the story took place in the late 80’s-early 90’s in the streets of Chicago. At this era of time, it had been about 20-30 years after segregation was outlawed, but the effects of years of racism and segregation could be shown in the “hoods” of cities. The author utilizes the two boys’ stories to show what the
The 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his prophetic “I have a Dream Speech” attracted over 250,000 followers (Stewart, Smith, & Denton 2012, p. 12). The Civil Rights Movement had enormous momentum and was ready stay until justice was brought to every African-American in the United States of
The author, Dudley Randall, illustrates the conflict and irony between the mother and her child. The mother only wants to protect her child from the dangers that await her, but the child on the other hand, only wants to be a part of the Freedom March in Birmingham, Alabama. “The Ballad of Birmingham” was written about the real life events of the bombing that took place in Birmingham, Alabama at the church of Martin Luther King, Jr by white terrorists. Though the bombing was tragic and resulted in the death of four innocent African American girls and injuring fourteen other people, the racist bombing was a dramatic turning point in the United States Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Dudley Randall shows that even though the mother has good intentions, they are not good enough to protect her daughter from an untimely death.
There is no safe place in the world. “Ballad of Birmingham” proves that by telling the tragic tale of a young girl and her mother. No matter what a building symbolizes or how much determination is spent on keeping love ones safe, life or destiny will occur. “Ballad of Birmingham” approaches the bombing of Birmingham in 1963 from a sentimental point of view, providing a unique insight into the story. The story of a mother and daughter, as described in the “Ballad of Birmingham,” cannot be understood unless the loss of a loved one has been experience first-hand.
... It stirred up much controversy along with the many other riots and civil rights movements of the time. For the people living during these times, like James Baldwin, much inspiration, realization, and experience occurred. Baldwin was able to take these troubled times and incorporate them into his passion, writing.
In Dundley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham,” a mother-daughter debate over the freedom march breathes the characters into life by empowering them with exclusive voices. Furthering the mother and daughter’s story through a third voice, Randall introduces the narrator’s cold and callous voice in the fifth stanza. The voices in the ballad emotionally connect the readers to the characters and the bombing of Birmingham.
In this book, it shows examples of racial strife includes segregation, physical attacks and emotional abuse. The Logan family was treated indescribably. The book starts showing racial strife when the children of the black family has to go to a different school than the white children for that very reason. This book shows the way racism from the 1930’s and how much it’s changed compared to today. If we treated African Americans the same way starting in the 1930’s we wouldn’t have had so much commotion that we have today. In “Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry” the blacks were so segregated that they had to go to different schools, and they didn’t even have a bus to walk to schools which took an hour there and back.
On August 28, 1963 Dr. King made his way to Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to commit his speech to his fellow Americans. Dr. King commands his speech during an ironic period time of America history. African-Americans were frowned upon by the Caucasian. Not only the African-American had a difficult time fitting in, also Asians and Hispanics were discriminated and surrogated from the Caucasian population. The heartless Caucasian police officers would verbally command their racists’ hounds on the desperate but yet innocent African-American young adults and children. The inhuman Caucasian fire department used their almighty water hose on the nonviolent protesters, only because the protesters’ skins were darker than theirs.
...olitical rally for jobs and freedom which became known as the March on Washington (“March on Washington”). Americans were able to come together to demonstrate the boldness that they had to fight a cause that no person should endure. The march was designed to open the eyes of the American people on the political and social challenges African Americans continued to face across the country (“March on Washington”). One was able to see that what African Americans were going through would not be wished upon anyone. A new nation was being reborn where blacks and white would get along without anyone being mistreated due to skin color. A man by the name of Martin Luther King was the main protagonist of this battle for equality. Martin was a Baptist minister and was also a social activist who held a major role in the American civil rights movement (“Martin Luther King Jr”).
Dudley Randall's Ballad of Birmingham gives a poetic account of the bombing of a Birmingham church in 1963. The poem was written in ballad form to convey the mood of the mother to her daughter. The author also gives a graphic account of what the 1960's were like. Irony played a part also in the ballad showing the church as the warzone and the freedom march as the safer place to be.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his immediate and secondary audience, and his carefully chosen diction helped to shape arguable one of the most touching works ever spoken.
In a society of a violent system it was hard for young blacks to take charge in an non-violent organization, it seemed to be a hypocrisy. And the idea of tolerance was wearing thin for the whole generation. Later on in the year, around August, the first of many large-scale riots began to break out. The first one was in Los Angeles, California and lasted for a little over three weeks. This single riot killed 39 people during its wrath of burning block after block.