Black Lives Matter: The Paradox of Injustice—“If We Must Die…”
In the poem “If We Must Die,” by Claude McKay, the African American poet writes that “If we must die, let it not be like hogs / Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, / While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, / Making their mock at our accursèd lot.” He states if blacks must be persecuted, let it not be in vain—but rather let them fight back. This was essentially the directive of Malcolm X as well (Fiero, 2010). However, Martin Luther King, Jr., had a different take on the plight of black people in America. He believed they should use non-violent means of protest. He based his idea on Thoreau’s (1849) “Civil Disobedience.” McKay’s poem does not promote civil disobedience but rather actual physical confrontation. McKay did not want his people to be passive. He wanted them to be aggressive—to make the oppressors work for their murder, if that was what they were committed to doing.
“O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe! / Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, / And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!” wrote McKay. His message was that blacks had to stand up for themselves and fight back—not sit down and let themselves be pushed around. However, what helped to bring about civil rights legislation was MLK’s approach of civil disobedience. For that reason, one could argue that Buddhism and Buddhist meditation could be useful in helping blacks to engage in peaceful protest, especially for the Black Lives Matter movement where there is a lot of anger and animosity raging. A lot of blacks feel strongly, the way McKay did—but it is important to remember that MLK had the right idea and the right approach. Thus, applying Buddhist meditation to the plight of black oppression in America should be considered as a viable approach to helping blacks address the issue of inequality once more (Curtis, 2015).
References
Curtis, T. (2015). Born into This Body: Black Women’s Use of Buddhism in Autobiographical Narratives. In New Media in Black Women’s Autobiography (pp. 87-109). Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Fiero, G. (2010). The Humanistic Tradition. NY: McGraw-Hill.
McKay, C. (n.d.). If We Must Die. Retrieved from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/if-we-must-die
Thoreau, H. D. (1849). Civil Disobedience. Retrieved from http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper2/thoreau/civil.html
When Willie Lynch wrote his letter to white slave owners in America in the 17th century, laying out the blueprint for the American Establishment on how to create racial tensions in order to facilitate the white slave owners’ rule over their African slave, he unwittingly laid the foundation stone for American elitism and racism that has since come to characterize the ruling class’ use of mass media in controlling the
Harlem Dancer" and "The Weary Blues" Times Change, but the Struggle is Still the Same The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and political movement during the 1920s and 1930s that sought to celebrate African-American culture through literary and intellectual means. Two of the era's prominent poets were Claude McKay and Langston Hughes. Their poetry helped to highlight the struggles that African-Americans were faced with. In "The Harlem Dancer," written by McKay,
A cannot live on tomorrow's bread." (Langston Hughs) The poem of Hughs ends by expressing that freedom comes to be needed by those who are deprived the most of freedom. CULLEN: UNCLE JIM In the work of Cullen entitled "Uncle Jim" the entirety of understanding this poem is in the first line which states: White folks is white," says Uncle Jim" (Countree Cullen) In just the first line of this poem it is expressed how
Racial Profiling and Discrimination in America Slavery in the United States formally began during the late seventeenth century, when the country was still a British colony. The institution then expanded and intensified rapidly during the eighteenth century, reaching its peak during the start of the nineteenth. During most of this time, for all intents and purposes, simply to be black was enough to identify one as a slave. That is to
Harlem Renaissance was a noteworthy era in human history that was triggered immediately after the upheaval of World War 1. It is largely characterized as a period in which African-Americans searched for greater self-actualization, and struggled for racial equality in an America drowned in ethnic bias. The Black community deemed it absolutely necessary to realize their dreams of a world with no prejudice and equitable opportunities in all walks of
OZ and Transition The Wizard of Oz provides Americans with a text that helps them make the transition from the country to the city and sets the stage for the commodified American popular culture of the 20th century. This paper will show how, thanks to its pristine (Emerald) beauty and adventurous episodes, Oz makes "the city" much more appealing than the muted, old-fashioned of America. It will also explain why Dorothy
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now