The following poem is a fictional narrative of an African American man who is struggling reconcile both his African and American identities. This poem will provide a greater understanding of the African American intersectionality experience.
DISCLAIMER: To fully enjoy the poem, please read slowly.
We were young and naive.
Playing together and climbing trees.
We always raced, and I always won,
I would just bolt and run, run, run.
We were young and naive.
Dancing, singing, running, we always believed,
When we grow up we’ll be important people some day,
Earning money, owning land, and just making our way.
I was young and naive.
Believing I was free from society,
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Eventually,
We grew up into fine young men ready to take on the world,
We grew up into fine young men ready to take on a storm,
We grew up into fine, young, men, ready to become rich.
I grew up,
Believing I could fly, hop out the nest, and glide through every tree,
Not realizing the stark contrast between me and the other children.\
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When we grew up,
And my sight became clearer,
It’s as if I'm torn in two and I couldn’t recognize this man in the mirror.
As kids we were birds flying and gliding through the air,
Everything seemed so limitless.
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Then I grew up.
And it became difficult to find a job,
It became difficult to provide,
Everything did not go as Planned,
They were successful in disenfranchising the Black American man
Then I grew up.
And understood what it meant to be Black.
I understood what it meant to be Black and not American.
I also understood what it meant to be American and not Black.
And I grew up.
They make it seem that it’s a difficult thing to be both Black and American,
Yet I am here, I exist
But they act as if these two cultures cannot coexist?
Made me question my identity,
Can I not be apart of both categories?
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The truth can be hurtful
But I will enlighten you with it.
I am Black and American and I am proud of it.
I am a Black American living the dream,
One that will not be stopped or limited.
Interesting approach to expressing the hardships and struggles of an African American man. It is unfortunate that once he grew up, he realized that his aspirations were faced with rejection. You use the word “naive” to describe his state as a young boy and then you dismiss it with “then i grew up”… Implying a realization taking place with a sight that “became clearer”.
Also, this quote caught my attention:
“But they act as if these two cultures cannot coexist?” I was just commenting on Laila’s post regarding “cultural explosions” and i was expressing how these two cultures are/seem like one culture after all (not saying explicitly) and the fact that your fictional character loathes for them to “coexist” reinforces the notion of merging 2 into 1, or reinforcing the same American culture to be considered as 1. However, should we reinforce them to be 1? I don’t think so, i might be wrong, because it means we’ll be dismissing the African in African Americans. (??) (never mind, i should be well equipped before i state such claims)
“I understood what it meant to be Black and not American./I also understood what it meant to be American and not Black.” These two lines are what pulled me in the most as it addresses the two significant aspects of being African American and also solidifies the subject of the poem. I felt that the poem as a whole represents the perfect view of life that people generally tend to have during childhood, whether African American or any other nationality/race/ethnicity. Moving on, Another thing that these lines address is the social construction of race, which made me think of how society tags people differently according to traits that the individual themselves had no say in. This social construct, amongst others, is a major issue as now people are being segregated and forced into particular paths in life, which for the most part, restrict success for a given minority.
I love the how you write “my sight became clearer,” and then you contradict that by writing “It’s as if I’m torn in two and I couldn’t recognize this man in the mirror,” which kind of reminded me of how double consciousness makes you view yourself in two different ways, and yet, at the same time, it makes you more aware of the world around you, while also being apart in yourself. What I also found interesting is the dichotomy you created between “Black” and “American,” which shows how 1) color is equated with nationality 3) nationality denies color (both of which are ridiculous). In the ending, I liked how you changed the “Black and American” to “Black American” because the latter portrays a unified identity rather than two separate identities mixing together.
Your poem makes me think of the “American Dream” – because it is about someone who aspires to be successful but ends up struggling to find a job. The “American Dream” is an illusion as very few can go from poverty into wealth but it is obviously harder for African Americans for a myriad of factors. This makes me think of how in 1920s, when slavery has ended not too long ago, African Americans are struggling to find an identity for themselves within American culture.
I was also reminded me of the poem I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes which was published in 1926. It is about black people feeling alienated from the American identity:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too
I really like the contrasts in this poem, they remind me so much of “The Souls of Black Folk” by DuBois and “Native Son”. I like how you begin the poem by portraying their childhood and their dreams, shedding light on what by most people was historically being unnoticed- their humanity. I can see the division of self here, the struggle for identity and the need to find oneself in order to belong and to be accepted for what one is. I feel like the voice in the poem already knew that they did not actually fit in, but the stark realization that they were driven away from their own identity came suddenly and much later in life, when “they grew up”. They might have grown up, but as DuBois says, they never grow out of the need to balance two clashing identities. I like what you did there, giving this character the chance to voice their concerns and made him one that others can identify with.
I loved the way you expressed the internal and external struggles that an African american goes through in terms of not being able “to find jobs” and “to provide” as well as his two identities that created confusion and uncertainty within him, which reveal that he is simply seeking acceptance for the person he is.
One line that corresponds to this is “They make it seem that it’s a difficult thing to be both Black and American”, which truly shows how society constructs a general view on people because of their race, gender, nationality, and even ethnicity and disregards the individuals own perspectives and opinions. as a Palestinian American, I’m constantly pressured into choosing one identity or deleting an identity because i simply cannot belong to both.
Thank you for reflecting on your own identity, Leen. I’d be interested to hear more about the experience of feeling like “I simply cannot belong to both.”
You point to an important issue — in language, we hyphenate identity categories, which forces a connection between the two labels and claims a new “integrated” identity. But is that connection always so easy or always so integrated? What happens when situations (social, political, personal) arise where the two categories are in tension with one another? What is the experience of being Palestinian-American in an America that politically supports Netanyahu’s policies, for instance? What are the myriad emotions that layer and conflict with one another? Or maybe it’s a problem with the categories we use to define “identity.”
This tension is central to DuBois’ concept of double-consciousness and to both Clare and Irene in the novel.
Thank you for this poem, Ray.
The other commenters brought up great points about the social construction of race and the work of DuBois’ concept of “double consciousness” in the poem. If we follow from DuBois, is there a way that your speaker claims a similar power to speak the American experience — to see and articulate a truer America because of his race?
I highly recommend Ta-Nehesi Coates’ memoir, _Between the World and Me_. It’s beautifully written and touches on the themes you examine in your poem. Link here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/220290/between-the-world-and-me-by-ta-nehisi-coates/