Journal #10

This short excerpt tells very little about what is going on in the story, yet even this small slice provides the background of a very prejudiced setting and a time when blacks were so ill-regarded whites did not even want to look at them. The stereotypes are very prominent as the teacher refuses to believe that Angela could be anything but white. "She dresses in better taste than anyone in the room," according to Mr. Shields a black girl would not be able to do that. The model refuses to pose for a black girl, even though she does not even look black, knowing that she has African American blood angers the model.

When Mr. Shields discusses the situation with his wife they focus not on the rudeness and barbaric attitude of the model, but instead on the more pressing matter of Angela's racial profile. You can be a perfectly nice, smart student, yet if you were suspected to be anything other than Caucasian you are judged very harshly. The model, who's attitude was completely atrocious receives none of the scorn that a black person would in those days. It is outrageous. When Angela is questioned by Mr. Shields about her race, she says "Of course I never told you that I was coloured, why should I?" From this excerpt alone, we cannot determine Angela's race because that her response would be typical of a white or a black student. If she were white she of course would not contradict it by saying she was black. If she were black, she would surely not volunteer that information as well because she didn't want to be treated differently. As a black girl she may not even be allowed to attend school. If Mr.Shields wondered why she did not say anything, he should know better.

The fact that Angela did not get worried or upset when the model came in makes me think that she is white, she would have feared the model exposing her true identity if she was black. Her association with black people is also well known, as she proudly brings in a picture of Hetty Daniels, a black woman who works for their family. Esther (the model) clearly hates Angela, possibly enough to make up a lie, and definitely enough to expose her if it is true. Why is her race such a big deal if it's not even noticable? Would she get kicked out of school? Would her friends disown her is it is true? There is a lot of information the reader needs to know to come to conclusions.

Being the only black person in an all white school is no picnic. "The Blacker the Berry," shows us another side to being black. Emma Lou's greatest wish is to have lighter skin. She tries everything she can think of to be less dark, because the darker you are the more you are judged. In the first paragraph Emma refers to her skin as both 'luscious' and 'a curse.' Obviously it is very hard for her to accept her own skin tone because she is surrounded by white people, or less dark people. Even her mother is white. Her mother tried to prepare her, to warn her that life would be especially difficult because not only was she black, she was also a girl. Black boys can 'get along' alright, but it's even harder to be accepted as a black girl.

When Emma Lou graduates she can't appreciate her accomplishment, she doesn't think about her diploma, she doesn't even go to recieve it when they first call her name. Why isn't she proud of graduating? Because she is only focusing on the fact that she is the only black student in her school and she is wearing a white graduation gown which makes her stick out even more against her dark skin. She feels all eyes on her and is so self conscious she can only see graduation as a release.

Even her friend Alva is ashamed to be seen with her. He never let her do anything with his friends because he was afraid of being teased. However, when he invites her to a party she cannot wait to come. The attendants are not his real, white, friends but other African Americans. When the guests discuss skin color Emma Lou is silenced. According to some of the guests, the lighter you skin tone, the more pure you are. So if you are very dark in color, you will be judged more harshly as a Negro than mulattos and other African Americans who are not quite so dark. As if Emma Lou wasn't self conscious enough! How can people who are prejudiced for their skin color be prejudiced at others of their race just because they are darker? It's a dreaded cycle, people who get bullied or pushed around often want to get out their anger and resentment on weaker individuals. This could be the reason that the lighter skinned African Americans felt fine with judging people who are darker. So ingrained was the white prejudice, that even the black people believed that they were lesser.

Works Cited

Fauset, Jessie. "From Plum Bun." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 348-350.

Works Cited

Thurman, Wallace. "The Blacker the Berry." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 636-649.

Journal #9

Jean Toomer's work is said to be heavily influenced by Sherwood Anderson and Waldo Frank, well known writers during the Harlem Renaissance. Song of the Son makes you think of the sun almost every word is about nature. Red soil, sweet-gum trees, velvet pines all create a peaceful, serene picture. The images of nature are a disctraction from the poem's real purpose, to tell the tale of the sons that slave away in this nature so unnaturally forced. The sun has set, but the sons have not, their work is never done. Compared to dark purple plums, negro slaves are squeezed and bursting from their toil.

Georgia Dusk was almost eerie. This poem tells of "a feast of men and moon and barking hounds, blood-hot eyes and blue ghosts or trees." I think that this poem is recalling what Africa used to be as it mentions high priets, ostriches and a juju-man. The singers whisper memories and the ghosts of a society before they were made slaves.

The Blue Meridian makes connections with Toomer's other poems. Once again nature is prevelant, "the blood of earth and the blood of man course swifter and rejoice when we spiritualize." Toomer brings out that man is connected with the earth through his words. Although it is a burden to sustain it, it in turn sustains us. The people of this poem have given up hope. Toomer speaks of an "inverted Christ, a moulting Thunderbird" as they wait for a new God (a God that is more merciful and benovelent.

I question the lines "We must keep keep keep the watermelon." What exactly does that mean? Watermelon is a common stereotypicall African American favorite, maybe the reason is that it represented something more important. In this poem it seems as one of the last things that these brothers can hold onto, and they intend to protect it at great costs. One thing is for sure, the victims of this poem are waiting and hoping for a change. "A new people. For the joining of men to men and man to God."

Cullen's poetry fits in with the stereotypical works of the Harlem Renaissance full of sexual passion, psychic woe and jungles.

For A Lady I Know is short and to the point. I'm sure that a lot of people could relate to that frustration even after slavery. I think the importance of this poem is that some people are incapable of changing or thinking differently. EVEN IN HEAVEN, the lady of the poem feels superior to black people.

Incident once again expresses the terrible frustrations and humiliation that negroes endured. We always remember the bad things that happen, they eat at us even if we've had a perfectly good day, week or month.

Heritage is more idealistic and dreamy than the other poems that focus on the life of a black man in America. Africa holds so much promise to Cullen, and therefore is more pleasurable to read. It is not so much about harsh reality than it is about what could have been. By the end of the poem his bitterness sets in as he implies that there is a fire kindling in his heart and soul, of anger that has not been unleashed. "Quench my prude and coold my blood...lest a hidden ember set, timber that I thought was wet."

I liked To A Brown Boy because it forces readers to realize that whether you are black or white, after you're gone color does not matter. "Men will not ask if that earth was white flesh once or brown."

All of Cullen's poems seem to ring with bitterness and none fail to mention the persecution that he as a black man has suffered.

Works Cited

Toomer, Jane. "Poetry." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 301-307.

Works Cited

Cullen, Countee. "Poetry." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 242-251.

Journal #8

"Jazz at Home" offers an interesting synopsis of the creation of jazz. It's name originated with Jasbo Brown, a renown musician during the early sensation contributed to turning what started out as ragtime into a musical genre of its own. Details about other famous jazz musicians as well as dances that thrived during that era are discussed briefly. There is the question of what group of people claim this legacy of music. Is it to be considered a Negro artform or something that is Contemporary American? In my opinion, a genre cannot belong to one racial group. Music is a gift that should be shared from culture to culture to create a connection and an understanding between them. We learn from each other, take an idea from someone else and put our own creative spin on it. Jazz is no exception, it may have begun in Harlem but it belongs to everyone who has a love and appreciation for it.

"The Closing Door" tells the story of the terrible life that the south had to offer African Americans. Agnes is fragile with a heart of gold. She waits and waits to hear news of Bob until she finally receives a telegram. "Bob died suddenly. Under no circumstances come. Father." I think that the purpose of this message was to give the family some closure without knowing the horrible details of Bob's death. It was meant to help them forget, so that they would never know what Bob suffered. Agnes's brother Joe finally arrives and provides some news from the real world that Agnes had not been a part of in a long time. For example, he says he is hungry from travelling in the Jim Crow cars and Agnes replies she had forgotten about them and asks if things are really still as bad as they were. Joe has not been home in a long time and realizes that Agnes is pregnant so he takes careful precautions that she does not overhear Bob's fate. As Bob, Jim and Lucy discuss the true nature of Bob's death which was the result of a dispute with white men. Bob refused to get off the sidewalk to please a white man. "An orderly mob in an orderly manner," the papers said broke into the jail and slung Bob to a tree, and there he still hangs, Joe said. The brutality of the murder is cruel and disgusting enough to make anyone sick. Lucy lost her composure and Agnes sees her and faints as the reality sinks in. When Agnes wakes she says she is an instrument of child birth, so that orderly mobs on Sunday mornings can hunt her colored children. It seems an inescapable fate, North or South brutality, not mercy was shown to African Americans.

When Agnes gives birth to her child she cannot appreciate the life she has given, only the death that most assuredly followed her child. Should she let him grow up in this cruel world only to die at the hands of lynchers? She cannot face the facts so she refuses to see the baby. She pretends that she has no child and Lucy takes care of the baby instead. Agnes does not want to get too attatched to the child because she knows that death is waiting for both of them. She is repulsed by her own baby's cooing and his smiles because she can only think about how rarely he will have this ignorant happiness. Finally, Agnes knows what she has to do to save her child. She smothers him to death, in her mind, protecting him from the horrible reality that she must face of torture and loss.

The closing door represents the finality of death in this story. The door notably closes when the telegram comes informing of Bob's death. It also closes when Joe arrives to tell them the excruciating details. The door closes after Agnes sneaks in to suffocate her child and it closes one final time when Agnes Milton was no more.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Grimke, Angelina. "The Closing Door." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 486-500.

Works Cited

Rogers, Joel. "Jazz At Home." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 52-57.

Journal #7

The Migration presents the dilemma that many African Americans dealt with as they gained their freedom from slavery, but must now adapt to American society as a free race. Despite family connections, staying in the south was unappealing because racial discrimination was extremely prevalent and it was dangerous to live there. The white southerners planned to “keep the Negroes down,” and they did so in any way they could think of. Negroes were constantly humiliated and talked down to. Segregation in schools obviously favored the whites, as the black children only received a fourth of the funding that white children got. On the other hand, the north could at least offer political freedom, however moving during those times was a huge risk because jobs were not guaranteed. Chicago became a popular place for African Americans to migrate to because it was more of a middle ground, easy to find work and not too far from home for many people.

There is Confusion was very confusing. Many characters appeared in this slice of the play and complicated relationships and past events were evident, but exactly what happened is hard to determine from this one scene. Philip dies from war injuries, but not before he is reunited with the love of his life. His sister played a crucial role in keeping them apart but she apologizes for her wrongdoings. Joanna finds happiness in the simple things in life after her success as a singer.

Slavery has thrown the Byes into confusion. Old man Meriwether wishes to include his illegitimate son in his will, but Peter insists that Meriwether reveal the truth and claim his son. When Meriwether refuses Peter also refuses to accept any offerings to them on his son’s behalf. He has an obvious pride in refusing handouts from these white people that have so wronged them. Meriwether’s behavior seems arrogant as he expects the family to take his gifts without condition, he does not realize that black people can have pride. No one involved is particularly keen that white and black blood runs in the young Meriwether’s veins.

The Fire in the Flint is the 2nd novel written during the Harlem Renaissance. Kenneth Harper is a struggling, young negro physician in a small Georgia town. Most people refuse to go to him because “he’s just a negro” and everyone knows that white doctors are better than black ones. Kenneth was very aware of the fact that democracy stops at the color line and he saw his race as a societal handicap. Dr. Williams, the only other negro doctor was old and set in his ways and did not help pave the way for young Kenneth to start his practice. When Kenneth’s mother insists he check on Mrs. Bradley though she only trusted white doctors. Dr. Bennet, her white doctor, claimed she simply had a stomach ache, but Kenneth knew immediately that she was suffering from appendicitis, despite her insistence that she did not have her appendix. After arguing with another white physician to give her anesthesia, Kenneth finally convinced him to help out with the surgery and he was able to operate. Kenneth saved Mrs. Bradley’s life and built his firm up from her wonderful reviews. Bennet, the white doctor, refused to give Kenneth credit for his diagnosis or even to admit that he was wrong about the stomach ache. The idea of white superiority is evident in this story. The arrogance of those who put down the black race is actually ignorance. I think the lesson here is that whites needed to accept that blacks were just as capable of practicing medicine or doing anything else. Stubbornness can threaten your life, as Mrs. Bradley learned. She took a chance on the black doctor and he saved her life while the white doctor would have let her die.

Works Cited

Faucet, Jessie. "There is Confusion." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 340-348.

White, Walter. "The Fire and the Flint." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 351-362.

Woodsen, Carter. "The Migration of the Talented Tenth." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 6-9.

Journal #6

Among the drunken conversation throughout this piece McKay's "Home to Harlem" tells the story of the black men who don't necessarily feel the connection with their race that is expected of them. Ray is too smart for his own good, as he can not relate to the other Negroes. Very much related to "Passing," this piece is about kinsmenship or the lack there of. Just as Clare cannot embrace her heritage, neither can Ray admit to his roots. It's more than the lack of education, the ignorance and the bad language, what he truly detests is the level of society reserved for African Americans. The prejudice and oppression makes him sick to his stomach just thinking about it. He longs to have the confidence of a white person, to be free to speak his mind and be able to read a book without being teased or mocked. Ray knows that he cannot willingly belong to a race that is so far down on the food chain. He refuses to be one link in the chains of bondage that is black America. To Ray, being white is a passport to glory. He feels like black swine being hunted by the white canaille. Not all negroes are the same.

Both men seem to be searching for something, or someone to make their lives complete. This is how they justify constantly travelling for work and frequenting shady places. Though they both might want to settle down, they can't until they find their place in the world. Ray suffers from a violent stroke when he takes drugs to try and flee his environment mentally since he seems to be incapable of doing so physically. This is where I see a relation between Ray and the character of Will from Good Will Hunting. Both characters know that they are above the work and the people that they surround themselves with, but for some reason cannot get the guts to pick up and leave. I think that in Ray's case he feels that the color of his skin sets him up for failure.

In class you asked: Do Jake and Ray reject society's institutions or are they outside of them?
I think that Ray is outside of society's institutions while Jake rejects them. Ray is educated, from Haiti and is familiar with other cultures. He has seen how other societies function, and this one in particular is not his native culture. As for Jake, he has always been a part of this society, and he wishes that he is not.

Works Cited

McKay, Claude. "From Home to Harlem." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 371-388.

Journal # 5

Larsen's "Passing" focused on the how African Americans chose to cope with racial oppression in the Harlem Renaissance. At first I did not understand what Irene meant by "passing." When she first describes it she talks about Christianity and being saved so I thought that passing might have meant embracing the lord into one's life. As Clare kept prodding Irene about passing and suggested that she and her friends might be able to pull it off as she had done I realized that passing actually meant converting from the being black to being white. Clare's life is a sham, her marriage is a sham because she is hiding her race and therefore her identity in order to attain status, security and wealth. But what kind of security did she really attain? And at what cost? She was forced to give up everything and to live a lie in order to hold on to her marriage.

Irene's dislike towards Clare is complex, because she obviously admires her on some level, yet I think that she could never accept Clare because Clare rejects the heritage that the two women share. Irene also envies Clare's beauty and confidence, this envy turns to suspicion when her husband reveals that he invited Clare to a party. I can not understand why Clare would even go to such a party, I don't understand how all of the people can treat her like one of them when she has clearly rejected their nationality. Irene is the only one that we know dislikes her, and that dislike became so strong that she was driven to reveal Clare's true identity to her husband. John Bellow was able to realize his situation, that his wife was not who he thought she was. When he confronts her at the party alot of tension arises. Did Clare fall through the window? No. When she was confronted by her husband for being a Negro, she retained a confident smile, and Irene could not take it anymore. Maybe she didn't truly mean to do it, but I think she knew exactly what she was doing when she pushed Clare. Brian's reaction to Clare's death told Irene that there really was an affair going on between the two, and through her confused, bitter, anguish she is glad that the deed is done.

The conflicts surrounding this event are racial insecurity (by Clare), prejudice (by her husband) and jealousy (Irene). I thought this was a very interesting story, my favorite so far in the Reader.

Works Cited

Larsen, Nella. "Passing." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 460-485.

Journal #4

I am glad I waited to post on Paul Robeson until after yesterday's class because we actually got to witness some of his work as an actor. Now that I can put a face to this author and also can identify with the talent he possessed to play such important roles not only in O'Neill's plays but in the equal rights movement as a whole. When he speaks of his role as Emperor Jones he seems to identify with the character saying that he suffers as we all suffer, "re-living all the sins of his past-experiencing all the woes and wrongs of his people-throwing off one by one the layers of civilization until he retyrns to the primitive soil from which he (racially) came" (58). Robeson takes pride in his part in the play's success, although he has had his fair share of criticism. "All God's Chillun'' created a huge uproar and negative attention, until most of the opposition saw the play and walked away in tears from the dramatic plot. Robeson knows that there will always be critics, but he is above most of it because those who object most strenously knew nothin about the play and had no just cause to chastise it. His comments make me wonder what type of criticism he recieved for his roles, there most have undoubtedly been violent threats made during those particularly prejudiced times. Robeson could have done a lot of different things with his career, we learned in class about his wide range of talent, from being a star athlete to a law school student and also acting. True dedication to his work is evident in his recollections of the plays and his resistance to being silenced during such a dynamic era.

In Garvey's "Africa for the Africans," I detected a lot of anger and frustration with the racial disupute. He covers a variety of topics so I will pick some specific areas to comment on. Garvey wants to break away from the America which holds forever the terrible past of African enslavement. He even agreed with some of the white supremicist groups that blacks did not belong in America. He sought to bring all of the African Americans back to Africa in order to start their own nationality. I think that Garvey's opinions are very strongly based on his experiences in the U.S. and understandably many African Americans during that time felt that they did not belong in America. I feel however that Garvey's "evacuation plan" was just giving up on all of the progress on racial equality that was happening at the time. The speech was meant to be motivational, he declares that it is time for the race to do something for themselves and that a great future is in store for them.

Works Cited

Garvey, Marcus. "Liberty Hall Emancipation Day Speech." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 17-28.

Robeson, Paul. "Reflection On O'Neill's Plays." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 58-60.

Journal #3

"I came to tell you brother, that white faces are petals of roses. That dark faces are petals of dusk. That I am going out and gather petals" (318).

Toomer begins her story with a beautiful woman named Karintha. Karintha has learned to control men and they beg to be at her beck and call. She has married many times and has had a child. Yet, exposed to this lifestyle she knows that "men do not know that the soul od her was a growing thing ripened to soon. She may be stunningly beautiful, but she lost her virginity too soon as a fruit that was picked before it was ripe. She knows that she is not truly living, just surviving and watching men throw themselves at her in the desperate, yet impossible hope to make her love them. It's a sad story ending with the sun going down...

Fern has a strange beauty, a mixture of races and "weird eyes." Once again the sunset is referenced, as her eyes are compared to its glory. There is something mysterious about her, but what is revealed is that she suffers unknown pain, so furiously she faints when she is on a walk with an admirer. Both women in the story are constantly compared to aspects of nature, but the significance is that both are flowers, "I came to tell you brother, that white faces are petals of roses. That dark faces are petals of dusk. That I am going out and gather petals" (318). This exerpt encourages humanity to embrace nature for what it is, to gather the petals of roses and of dusk, all are beautiful.

The story of Bona and Paul weaves around the fact that Bona is white and Paul is black. Race is interestingly not the central issue. The rose is a prominant symbol in this plot. Crimson Gardens appears repeatedly, referred ti as "a part of life," "a body whose blood flows to a clot," and "gives a glow of immediacy to white faces." As the two tango from infatuation, to cold heartedness to possibly love, the images of red roses and crimson gardens appear again and again. The crimson gardens seem a metaphor for a woman's private parts, they both desire eachother, Bona tries to hide it, but when Paul makes his intentions known she is gone.

Why were the stories of these 3 women intertwined in Toomer's contribution to the book? All were lovely as the roses that are so often mentioned. One white, one black and one of a mixed race. Different flowers, yet all desirable and beautiful. The purpose of these stories may have been to demonstrate that every woman, evert race has it's own beauty and grace.

Works Cited

Toomer, Jean. "Cane." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 318-332.

Journal #2

After reading O'Neill's Emperor Jones I found myself pretty lost and confused. At first I thought my confusion stemmed from reading the selected scenes from the middle of the play, but the language was also a huge distraction for me. I was focusing so much on trying to decipher what they were saying I was not paying enough attention to the actual plot. Truthfully, the black dialect always seemed like the language of ignorance to me because it's basically slaughtering proper English. Now that I see it prominently in published literature I think that there are other ways of looking at it. The dialect has a purpose, to establish linguistic identity to the culture, to set them apart from others and enables them to recognize "their own." On another note I think that there is a lot to be said about language through Helga's identity search in Quicksand (but I will save discussion of that for a later post). Back to the O'Neill work, I think that once again the theme is fear. Jones is runnning from the soldiers, gets lost in the woods and encounters a witch doctor and a crocodile. Both seem to terrify him, but he meets his end when he is shot and killed by the silver bullet. I struggled to understand the significance of the silver bullet, I know it's supposed to represent something important because it is mentioned several times. There is definitely a connection to the supernatural in this play, as displayed by the witchdoctor's presence as well as the fact that Jones has a "strong charm." I would be interesting to read the entire play to find out what is really going on here.

T.S. Stribling's "Birthright" depicts the story told by a white men about a black men, a rare occurrence for a white writer to feature a black protagonist. The main character, Peter Siner lays out the scene describing the train and the Jim Crow car in comparison to the rest of the train. The was not shabby, but unkept, as opposed to the rest of the train that was nicer for the white passengers. The purpose of this story however is not to point out the injustice of the segregation on the train, but he does consider other similar instances of injustice such as when his mother worked for Miss Molly Brownell and was never given a biscuit when they were served for dinner. When Peter's thoughts are interrupted by a big brute that obviously recognizes him Peter is startled to find that he was acquainted with the man. As Pack tells Peter of his time in the army and the medal that he had been given for killing four white men, a strange sense of irony unfolds. A black man was REWARDED for killing white men. This is an instance completely unheard of at this time when blacks were severely punished if they were even accused of violence towards anyone who was white. Pack even exclaims, "Yas-suh, I never wuz mo' surprised in all my life dan when I got dis medal fuh stoppin' fo' white men" (Stribling 338) The two reflect on this tremendous turning of the tables and Peter reassures his childhood friend that he was fighting for his country. So why is this piece called Birthright? Possibly because everyone should have the same rights as everyone else. If a white man has the right to take a black man's life, than the black man should also have the right to kill a white man.

Works Cited

O'Neill, Eugene. "The Emperor Jones." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 311-317.

Stribling, T.S. "Birthright." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 333-338.

Journal #1

"Returning Soldiers" is a powerful piece that has a strong rhythm of outrage and anger regarding the country that oppresses the Negroes. Examining the beat and the patterns of the sentences it is very much like a poem, and this poem’s purpose is to call out the country that the Negroes have been at war with. The voice behind the soldiers is untouchable, the logic and the argument is all clearly laid out. W.E.B. Du Bois identifies the enemy as the country as a whole, referring to America saying, “it lynches,” and “it steals from us,” as though it is the nation that is to blame and not the people. The purpose of this chapter is to appeal to all of the Negroes that have been oppressed and to send the message to anyone that stands in the way of their freedom and rights will have to fight them, because it is a never ending fight for democracy.

"If We Must Die" is not so much about fighting the oppressors but instead stresses the need to die honorably if we must die. The main idea here seems to be comparing the oppressed race to animals. They are “hunted and penned,” but even though Claude McKay can relate to being treated like an animal, he turns it around and says that it is their hunters that are the monsters, they are the real animals. “Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack” Only at the end of the poem does McKay express the need to fight back. This may be because at the beginning they were outnumbered and it seemed like they were completely hopeless. But even just one blow against their countless blows can give them the strength to fight back.

"From Black Manhattan" tells the story that we should all be familiar with. The time period when Negroes were beginning to have more rights, and ownership was the most important right for many of them. We don’t know what it’s like to own nothing, to have nothing to take pride in. Having one’s own land, not relying on someone else for survival is the reason that Negroes sought this prized possession. When taking Harlem Johnson asks “Will the Negroes of Harlem be able to hold it?” (36) Having enough money was one thing, but resisting all of the attacks from anti-black groups was another obstacle altogether.

The central theme that I observed from these readings revolves around resistance. Resisting those who want you out of their town, those who want you to stay quiet and know your place and those who want you dead, was a very difficult struggle during this time period. Dubois, McKay, Johnson and Garvey gave a voice to the frustrations that African Americans struggled with but feared to publicize.

I had a couple of questions while writing this journal. What terms for African Americans are inappropriate? I just don’t understand why black people are called African Americans, but most white people don’t even know that we are termed Caucasians.

Works Cited

Dubois, W.E.B. "Returning Soldiers." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 3-5.

Johnson, J.W. "Black Manhattan." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 34-45.

McKay, Claude. "If We Must Die." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 290.