A Death Song by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

This poem was very interesting , because although it was short, it kept me enterrained the whole time I was reading it. I had to read the poem twice i order to grasp the full meaning of it, because even though I knew the name of the poem was a Death Song , I still could understand what it was talking about. After careful thought, I realized he was talking about death in many ways. The language of the piece led me to believe that either the author was not very well educated or they were trying to convey the poem in the diction of the past. The diction used was very colloquial, however, this made poem come alive and have deeper meaning to it. The piece made me belive that the author was talking about the treatment of blacks during the Jim Crow South where poeple were hanged, killed, and discriminated against in horrible manners.

A white death

Two stanzas and fourteen lines were all Countee Cullen needed in her poem, "A Brown Girl Dead," to convey the all-too-common, inferiority complex that plagues many African Americans. The time period in which the poem is not specified, however, it can be inferred that it was sometime along the early 1980s because of a reference to pop icon Madonna within the text. The poem in context tells the story of a brown girl who has passed away, and her mother pawns her wedding ring to ensure that she is buried in white; "With two white roses on her breasts, white candles at head and feet." The manner in which the girl dies is never specified, however, following the description of the items adorning her body, the girl is referred to as a "Dark Madonna of the grave." This is most likely due to the association of white as virginal and matrimonial, and Madonna's song and video "Like a Virgin," where she dons all white as well. The comparison to Madonna is most likely intended as a compliment, however, the question is posed as to why it is so imperative that this brown girl be buried in white.
It is becomes evident throughout the text of the poem that there is supposed to be some pride in being buried in all white, primarily by the specification of the color when describing the objects surrounding and adorning the girl's body. This assumption is confirmed in the second stanza when it is revealed that the girl's mother has pawned her wedding ring to make burying her in this manner possible. However, the final solidification of this idea comes in the last two lines when the author says that the girl would, "...be so proud she'd dance and sing to see herself tonight." The question is then posed as to why the girl would take so much pride in this and there are two possible answers.
Dating back to slavery, white has always been glorified as a superior color/race, and in traditional weddings, it is viewed as an honor for the bride to wear white as it is looked upon as pure and virginal. Therefore, one of these two ideas most likely came into play to warrant celebration at the fact that the girl is buried in white. Perhaps the mother wants her child to appear or be recognized as pure in death, but given the time in which the poem is presumably written the mother more than likely takes pride in the prestige associated with the color. It is almost ironic because this mother has to bury her child, which would typically cause for mourning, but the poem instead focuses on the way in which she is buried and claims it is a reason to rejoice. In a roundabout manner, the poem is pointing out the color complex of black people, to where this woman would pawn a valuable possession, solely to ensure that her daughter be able to be buried in this glorified color; white.

"The Death Song"

The poem that I read was "The Death Song" by Paul Laurence Dunbar. The poem talked about death in different way than the poems that I have already familiarized myself with in the past. There was a different kind of diction with a certain colloquial that I believe to be of descendant from the South. "Lay me down beneaf de willers in de grass," is the first line of the poem. The way that beneath is spelled shows that the author is trying to get this certain colloquial message across. the message possibly deals with that of the an African- American living in the south or one that is a slave and is not given the proper education to be able to work on their grammar.

Where Do We Go From Here?

This passage begins with a biblical allusion to a young boy who left his home to "find himself," by pursuing adventure after adventure. Ultimately, he only found disillusionment and frustration, and it was not until he returned home that he actually "found himself." This is the analogy used in comparison to the plight in America with regards to racism and discrimination. America had the potential to be the "perfect," nation; just as the little boy had the opportunity to find himself at home. However, America strayed away from their opportunity to advance into perfection; just as the young boy left home. The way in which America virtually squandered her opportunity to achieve perfection is through things such as segregation, racism, and discrimination. A "perfect," nation would consist of justice and equality for all, combined with the co-existence of all races.
The greatest similarities between the boy and America, are the feelings aroused by the decisions they have made. the boy's decision to leave home ultimately caused him to feel lost and sorrowful; just as the enslavement of and discrimination against black people has "left hearts aching with guilt and minds distorted with irrationality." However, just as the boy was able to return home and correct his mistake of leaving from the beginning, the passage argues that America too can correct her plight "if she returns to her true home, 'one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all'." The passage also states that if America is able to achieve this ultimately many other things will occur benefitting the country, such as power amongst other nations. In a type of "lead-by-example," scenario, it is said that other countries will acknowledge and respect the way in which America is run and be more subjective to follow suit.
The question is then posed as whether America will allow black people, or the negro population, to be her liability or opportunity? By withholding "inalienable rights," from a group of inhabitants of the country, America is blatantly seen as a hypocritical nation, and therefore limited both to the amount of international respect as well as power that she can achieve. Therefore, prior to pursuing power and wealth, America must first focus on justice and equality for all. Just as the little boy had to achieve his happiness at home. Also, it is pointed out how unnecessary money is spent on things such as war, alcohol, and cosmetics, as opposed to restitution for some of the wrongs of slavery and prejudice. This is stated to prove that the first step in achieving national "perfection," is to properly prioritize.
In essence the passage is saying that in order to gain wealth and prosper, Americans must first correct their civil problems. Where Do We Go From Here? is an adequate title for the passage. "Here," being the condition of America presently. In retrospect, the answer to that question would be to take the necessary steps to both achieving and maintaining equality.
As a whole the piece is a decent read. However, it is organized in a sort of awkward way, where the transitions in paragraphs are not smooth. The context of the whole passage are very insightful, yet unorganized. Also, the way in which the passage begins with the analogy of America to the biblical story warrants readers to keep reading.

Where do we go from here?

This piece was very short but intriguing, in it Dr. King critiques himself for giving the then youthful leaders of the Black Power Movement too overly optimistic views of the progress of integration. He also presents the pros and cons of Black Power. He states the need for White America to do much more to improve race relations other than declaring racism to be wrong. He calls for the teaching of African-American history, and for the nation to focus more on helping the poor over military spending. This book should be mandatory reading for high school students, college students, teachers, public officials and business leaders.

Where Do We Go from Here?

I understood from the text how a persons dignity is something that is close hearted to them. Especially when it comes to they black people, their dignity is something that I believe that they hold higher and closer to themselves than any other race in America at that time. As a race that is limited and not really considered free to the world, they were the type of race that at that time all they had was their dignity, because the white Americans took everything else from them. Dignity by definition is worthiness and/or conduct. African Americans needed a since of worthiness because they would not have anything else to help them believe that it would get better except Jesus.

The Future of the American Negro

This passage to me, is further motivation to stay in college. Washington's views were ridiculous and very shocking, coming from an African American man. The low value he seemed to place on education was both appalling and disappointing. Reading the passage angered me slightly because it is hard to believe that a black person could feel that way about his own people. He believed that education was second-nature to materialistic things, and the only way for blacks to gain respect and/or equality amongst whites is to work hard building and acquiring things that white people would need, forcing them to have to co-exist with black people. Washington also argued that the woes of slavery had subconsciously made black people lazy and resentful of hard manual labor. He stated this almost as if to say that the only reason African Americans would be pursuing higher education is to avoid having to do heavy labor.
The passage was ridiculous and contradictory in my opinion. Intelligence is the key to equality, and by placing education low on your list of priorities black people are still not achieving equality. With the brains to outsmart them, white people in turn would still wield some control over blacks. All the money and worldly possessions cannot replace the value of a good education. Also, by suggesting that blacks perfect manual laborious trades instead of professional careers, Washington is still treading dangerously close to the slavery mentality of black people doing the hard work, while white people reap the benefits.
This type of thinking still somewhat exists today, as most of Corporate America, and white collar jobs are operated by white people, while blacks maintain the blue collar positions. I think the only way to truly gain equality is to be able to match wits and intellect with all races. A solid education should be held as first priority, because you can always rely on an acquired skill or trade later in life, should career plans fall through. However, you should not automatically settle for less than great. Placing higher education over industrial labor is the same as the quote "reach for the stars, so if you miss you'll still land on the moon."