Minorities have always had a long history of being ostracized for their differences, and it's not just African-Americans that I'm talking about. Jewish people have been shunned from almost the beginning of time, women only received voting rights in 1919, and there have been numerous "anti-" laws against immigrants from Europe, Asia, etc. How do the ones without a voice speak up? Through jazz, poems, and other forms of media, they prime the audience to slowly begin accepting them as equal individuals.
Women began to express their discontent quietly through poetry, like the poem from Le Beau Monde about a woman's repulsive husband; this was not unusual, and African slaves had long expressed their sorrow in gospels. This led the way towards The Harlem Renaissance, which was a complete explosion of jazz, literary works, and art, covered with and representative of their rejection, loneliness, and a desire to be seen as equals. While jazz entertained the upper crust of white society, it also brought them closer to each other, allowing whites to realize that African Americans as a whole were a force to be reckoned with, and not as ignorant as first believed. It is at this time that Hughes and others became a prominent figures in literature, expressing the suffering of their people and the hopes that someone can rise and change the tides.
This idea runs deep through the veins and rivers of America. Thoreau's Civil Disobedience stressed the need of a single individual to work against the machinery of society and to stand up for his/her beliefs; his work inspired many civil rights activists to do what was right. I feel like Hughes' and other African-American poets' works appeal not only to the whites who deny equality, but also to their own people. His poems appear innocent to the untrained eye, but reveal themselves to be calls to action, imploring everyone to make a difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was successful in that he "stood on the shoulders of giants" such as Langston Hughes and other African American revolutionaries.
Annie, your post was awesome :) I especially loved the sentence, "How do the ones without a voice speak up?" It was deep and powerful. It's so saddening how the majorities manage to suppress not just the minorities, but even their voices and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAnnie, I really liked your insight on so many grievances throughout history. Also, your synthesis of so many of the pieces we discussed makes your point really stand out.
ReplyDeleteI like your portrayal of the suppression of not just African Americans but also many other minority groups. Your reference to history and other works of literature made your post insightful. Nice post! :)
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