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.