The Ballad Of Birmingham, By Dudley Randall

The “Ballad of Birmingham” is written by Dudley Randall. It was written in 1963, after the church bombing in Birmingham. The author wrote this poem as a tribute to the victims of the bombing. The theme of the poem is race and violence. This poem gives a hint about the socio-political environment during the segregation era. However, this poem was also used to make awareness about problems faced in society. The irony of the poem is that her mother thinks the political march is not a safe place for her daughter so, she sends her to church instead. What happens next is completely opposite, her mother hears an explosive sound in the church. The explosive was planted knowingly because it was an African-American church. This hate crime took four innocent lives.

During the 1960's the African-American community was facing a tough time. African Americans were not considered equal compared to European Americans. Everything from schools, hospitals, colleges, restaurants, cemetery, churches was segregated. So when the girl asked her mother to allow her to go for the march, It was no wonder that she was afraid to

But you may go to church instead"(14,15). That was her mother's decision. She thought a church would be a better option, than a march with police and angry protesters. Who would have thought that a scared place would be less safe then freedom march? She gets her daughter ready and drops her at the church, and little did she knew, that it was the last day of her daughter's life. "For when she heard the explosive, her eyes grew wet and wild"(25-26). The church was bombed with explosives; Four innocent children lost their life that day. The last two stanzas were quite overwhelming. The tone of poem changed instantly from a tone of joy immediately turns to loneliness and grief; From a conversation between a mother and a daughter to an innocent girl's death. Her mother tried to find her daughter but all she could find was her white