African American Resistance - Annotated Bibliography Example

Essay, Annotated bibliography 30 March The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the African American resistance to oppression by the white population as seen in various poetry work in the past decades. The paper will discuss various opinions aired in the literary works that have analysed this poems in the past. The discussion will then Shields, John C, and Eric D. Lamore. New Essays on Phillis Wheatley. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2011. Print. The New Essays on Phillis Wheatley was written by both Shields and Eric and has analysed various poetry work from poets especially in 17th century as is the case of Wheatley Phillis’ “On the Death Wooster”. On the their book, Shields and Eric describes how slavery served as the main form of oppression of the African Americans in the slavery age and which was a great source of pain to them. The oppression was being advanced by the whites in various forms such as restrictions to certain facilities and mistreatments. The authors thus portrays how Phillis Whitley composed the poem “On the Death of General Wooster” which depicts a form of resistance to the state and a protest in a way. Phillis expresses her outrage regarding how the Africa’s race was being treated by the white people. The book can be described as credible since the authors have written other books on the topic before. Felder, Cain H. Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1991. Print. In the book Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation, Felder, the author, analyses various poems regarding the poetry works by various authors especially in the 18th century such as the “An Ante-bellum Sermon” composed by Paul Laurence Dunbar in the 1890s. According to Dunbar’s analysis, the poem is more of a protest as well as a plea to other African Americans to resist the slavery that was being facilitated by the white and which was a great source of poverty among the black race. The poem employs a lot of humor where Dunbar calls for “Moses” to come and rescue the black people from the slavery. The book Stony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical Interpretation is a compilation of credible analysis of poems from various poets thus can be described to be trustworthy. Haralson, Eric L. Encyclopedia of American Poetry: The Nineteenth Century. , 2014. Print. Haralson is the author of the popular book Encyclopedia of American Poetry which is a compendium of various poetry works in the history of America. In one of the poems is “The Slave Auction” which was composed by a renowned poet, Watkins Harper in the slavery period of America. In the book Encyclopedia of American Poetry, the author attempts to analyse the various issue presented by Watkins such as the torture and a hard time that African Americans endured at the time of his composing the poem. He condemns the slavery act as inhuman and which should be stopped. This in a way showed the resistance that was building up during this era which was to rise against the white oppression that had led to the degradation of the black race. The book is a well renowned compendium of poetry works from various authors and parts of the American continent and thus can be considered to be a credible source. Wood, Marcus. The Poetry of Slavery: An Anglo-American Anthology, 1764-1865. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Similar to the Encyclopedia of American Poetry, the book The Poetry of Slavery: An Anglo-American Anthology, 1764-1865 is another compilation of various poems in the American poetry history but usually, this book analyses poems that were composed strictly between 1764 and 1865. In this compilation, one of the poems included include “The Slave’s compliant”. This poem was composed by George Moses Horton and has referred to the despicable conditions that slaves who comprised of the majority Africans American. The poem is written in such a way that depicts a creation of awareness to the fellow blacks in order to seek for their fair share of rights. The poem is a portrayal of the growing resistance to the whites’ dominance and oppression of the black people. The book is an incredible source as it is widely accepted in the poetry circles. Nelson, Cary. Repression and Recovery: Modern American Poetry and the Politics of Cultural Memory, 1910-45. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1989. Print. The book Repression and Recovery: Modern American Poetry and the Politics of Cultural Memory, 1910-1945 was written by Nelson Cary and is a compilation of various poetry works in the American History as well. The book, however, features the relatively modern poetry works and one of the poems featured in the book is the “Incident”. The poem involves a story of a black boy who is lashed at by a white fellow as he calls him a “Niger”. The boy cannot help to keep thinking about the incident during the rest of his year. The poet, Countee Cullen, tries to show how the situation was like in the late 19th century when racism and oppression by the white people towards the black population was the order of the day. The author of the book, Cary Nelson analyses the book saying that the poet seems to have the intention of raising awareness and trigger emotion among the fellow African Americans in an attempt to invoke their taking of action against the racism and oppression that was being advanced. Literature Review This section will focus on making the connection between the various literary works used in this discussion in regard to the relationships that could exist between them and the topics shared among them. The main topic discussed in the paper involves the reaction of the poets, and especially those of the African American descent towards the art of slavery that was very much prevalent in the period running from the 15th century to the early 20th century. This was a period characterized by Africans and other people from other parts of the undeveloped world such as Asia, were taken away by force from their native lands to go and work as slaves in America. This led to a growth of the African population in America over the years and this prompted the resistance towards the oppression that had characterized their relationship with the whites. The whites acted as the superior beings which led to a silent revolt by the African Americans over the centuries as their numbers grew and they also grew more cognizant of their rights and position in the American society. By the beginning of the 20th century, the population was slowly gaining some form of independence. One of the major factors that led to the independence was the contribution of writers and poets over the centuries who played a huge role in educating and enlightening the black community against the oppression and thus the rights that they were entitled to. The poets, for example were very influential during the eras where literary works were not allowed on the side of the black community. During this era, only the white people were allowed to write books and other literary work which was very demeaning in terms of the much needed freedom of expression. It is during this time that the more recital form of poems gained massive popularity and thus poetry use grew among the black communities. In the poems described in the paper sections above, the main topic discussed by the respective poets is the call to African Americans to stand up against the oppression that was being advanced by the White majority in the society. The authors specifically target the slavery bit of the time and their main objective is to highlight how the respective poets used words that communicated unity among the African American communities in an attempt to invoke emotions and provide the necessary power and motivation for the fellow black people to rise against the oppression that was being carried out by the white people. It is evident most of these poets came from the southern part of America where slavery was widespread. However, a general observation is that the poets and writers targeted the northern whites who seemed more liberal and who would perhaps be influential in convincing their counterparts in the south to follow suit and end the slavery menace. The authors of all books involved in this paper also seem to come into an agreement that slavery was the key source of resistance among the African American community whose effects were increased discrimination and poverty among this segment of the population. After the slavery had come to an end in the early 20th century, various poets went ahead to highlight the plight of the newly freed African Americans. The books also share sentiments on the new issues that appeared after the emergence of this freedom which included pressure from their politicians who influenced them to change their votes and in some cases, bought their votes. In conclusion, the issue of slavery has for a long time being a thorn to poets and writers alike and this was clearly expressed in this paper. The poets who have written various works over the years when America was going through a period marred by slavery expressed the theme of resistance to this state by enlightening their fellow black population through their work. Read More