{"id":13463,"date":"2020-03-21T04:18:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-21T03:18:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/?p=13463"},"modified":"2020-06-06T21:02:05","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T19:02:05","slug":"poems-on-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/poems-on-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Poems about Racism and Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Poetry, like all art, is a powerful medium when it comes to tackling big issues. It\u2019s one thing to read a textbook about racism, but poetry personalizes the experiences of individuals and groups. Poetry can also teach and contextualize events in an emotional way. Readers receive a fuller picture of history. Many poets build their careers by sharing their pain, anger, and grief about racism. Here are ten poems on racism that everyone should read:<\/p>\n

Visit Bookstore<\/a>\n

\u201cCaged Bird\u201d by Maya Angelou<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Maya Angelou is known for her powerful prose and poetry. In her famous piece \u201cCaged Bird\u201d (also known as \u201cI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings\u201d), she describes two birds. One is free and happy, while the other is caged. From its captivity, it sings, longing for freedom. Using this metaphor, Angelou highlights the difference between white and black Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cRosa\u201d by Rita Dove<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Poet and essayist Rita Dove was the second African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. The poem, \u201cRosa,\u201d from Dove\u2019s 1999 book On the Bus With Rosa Parks, <\/em>paints a picture of Rosa Parks at the moment she decides to stay in her seat. This moment in 1955 triggered the Montgomery Bus boycott and captivated the country\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cTradition\u201d by Jericho Brown<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

A young poet from Louisiana, Jericho Brown\u2019s debut poetry collection won the 2009 American Book Award. The Tradition, <\/em>the book in which the titular poem appears, is his third collection. Using a sonnet structure, \u201cThe Tradition\u201d parallels the tradition of gardening and caring for the earth with violence against African-Americans. Brown lists types of flowers throughout the piece. In the last line, the names of John Crawford, Eric Garner, and Mike Brown take their place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhite Privilege\u201d by Gabriel Rameriz<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Poet and teaching artist Gabriel Rameriz performed this poem for a “We are mit\u00fa” video on Facebook in 2017. Rameriz, who is Afro-Latinx, describes the poem as a response to things white people have said to him. At the time, he didn\u2019t confront them directly. He says the purpose of the poem is to make white people consider their place in the world. Discomfort is a signal that there are things that need to change. His book<\/p>\n

\u201cI Am Not The Indian You Had In Mind\u201d by Thomas King<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

An artist with an impressive resume, Thomas King is a photographer, professor emeritus, radio broadcaster, and 2-time Governor General\u2019s Literary Award nominee. In this poem, King contrasts the stereotypes of indigenous people seen in culture and how they actually live in modern Canada. Vivid, conversational, and threaded with anger, it\u2019s a powerful indictment of racist stereotypes.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmigrant Blues\u201d by\u00a0Li-Young Lee<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

In this poem, Asian-American poet Li-Young Lee explores the different stories within the immigrant experience. These stories have titles like \u201cSurvival Strategies and the Melancholy of Racial Assimilation\u201d and \u201cPatterns of Love in Peoples of Diaspora.\u201d These different titles represent the complexity of immigration and how immigrants wrestle with many identities. For this reason, the poem is multi-layered and difficult. That\u2019s the point, however. Issues of immigration and identity should be challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiot\u201d by\u00a0Gwendolyn Brooks<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

The first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize, Gwendolyn Brooks\u2019 poems explore the African-American experience, identity, politics, and other issues. \u201cRiot\u201d paints a picture of the riots in Chicago after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The character observing the riots in the poem is John Cabot. A white man with privilege, he is horrified by what he calls \u201cIt,\u201d or \u201cthe blackness.\u201d He embodies the racist system that can drive people to riot.<\/p>\n

\u201cBallad of Birmingham\u201d by\u00a0Dudley Randall<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

In 1963, an African-American church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama. Four little black girls were killed. In this heartbreaking poem, Randall presents a conversation between a mother and daughter. The girl wants to join the Freedom March but is told she can\u2019t because it\u2019s too dangerous. Instead, she goes to church and her mother is confident in her child\u2019s safety. In the last two lines, the poem reveals the horrible truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfterimages\u201d by\u00a0Audre Lorde<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

A graphic and emotionally-challenging poem, \u201cAfterimages\u201d describes the effect that Emmet Till\u2019s death had on Lorde. She describes it as \u201cthe afterimage of my 21st year.\u201d Till haunts her dreams. Nightmares, rape, and violence saturate the poem. With unforgiving power, this piece demonstrates how traumatizing racism is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI, Too\u201d by\u00a0Langston Hughes<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

Langston Hughes is one of America\u2019s most famous poets. His work frequently explores issues of racism. In \u201cI, Too,\u201d he describes how as the \u201cdarker brother,\u201d he\u2019s sent to the kitchen when guests come over. He looks forward to the future when he\u2019s sitting with everyone else. The poem ends with the powerful line, \u201cI, too, am America.\u201d This hope for a tomorrow without racism is still relevant today.<\/p>\n

Visit Bookstore<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":13464,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8805],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issues","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Poems about Racism and Discrimination | Human Rights Careers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/poems-on-racism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"10 Poems about Racism and 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