The Culture of and Prejudice Against African Americans as...

African American’s have faced a great deal of harsh and cruel treatment throughout our society. From being stripped from their homeland of Africa and being brought to America as slaves, African Americans have seen and been through it all. Author and renowned poet Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks discuses and describes many of the cruel and unfair treatment that African Americans have faced throughout our civilization. Brooks’ not only speaks on the racial prejudice of African Americans, but she also discusses the heartaches, the life, and the growth of African Americans as a people. Brooks’ poetry and stories are very similar to her own experience growing up as an African American woman. Brooks’ uses the symbol of death many times in her†¦show more content†¦The sharp contrast between what could have been and what is sets off a mild dialectic of dreams versus reality. In the mother’s imagination these babies still exist and grow, function, and di e even while she knows they are dead (Shaw 56). Abortion is a very common thing for the black community. I believe when Brooks’ wrote this poem, she was able to put herself into the shoes of an African American woman who has aborted her child. â€Å"We Real Cool† is another famous poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem describes seven African American high school dropouts who want everyone in their community to think they are cool. In the poem, the teenagers go in detail of how they live their lives. They speak of how they stay out late playing pool, fighting, singing, and drinking. Though they think they have everyone fooled, the teens know that the destructive lifestyle they lead will be the cause of an untimely death. During the time Brooks wrote this poem, the dropout rate for African American teens was reaching an all time high. In a journal article written by Gary Smith, he states that perhaps no other poem by Gwendolyn Brooks has been widely anthologized and generated as much critical debate as â€Å"We Real Cool.† Much of the criticism questions why seven, presumably black, youths spend substance of their lives in a wastefulShow MoreRelatedHow The Great Migration Impacted The Harlem Renaissance2641 Words   |  11 Pagesthe African American people were given a voice through the creative efforts of those who were directly involved and affected by the Great Migration. It had a great impact on what life was like for these people and their families and also impacted the society as a whole. This Great Migration began at the end of the start of World War I from 1917, however many African Americans had begun migrating even before then. After the Civil War, at the end of the 19th century when the African Americans were