Connections Between the Black Panther Party "10-Point Program" and BAM Poetry
I believe the first, third, and fourth points of the 10-Point Program are most directly expressed in Black Arts Movement poetry. Specifically, the poems “For Black Poets Who Think of Suicide,” “I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra,” and “Sin of Msippi,” respectively. The Black Arts Movement poems and the 10-Point Program are connected by themes of independence and autonomy from oppressive white influences and the desire for absolutely equal opportunities and rights. In my interpretation, points one, three, and four closely resemble the ideas mainly expressed in these three poems. Everything could be connected through the common theme of the Black empowerment era, both in the literary realm and in real-world, actionable causes.
I connected the first point, “We Want Freedom. We Want Power To Determine The Destiny Of Our Black Community,” to Etheridge Knight’s “For Black Poets Who Think of Suicide. This idea of black people having the ability to write their own future and define their culture independently from the generationally oppressive hand of white America was powerful because African Americans were historically rarely able to choose their future and define their culture. And the small bit of autonomy they possessed was constantly at risk of being stripped away. The first point is a call and a demand to break free from these norms. I saw this point in “For Black Poets Who Think of Suicide.” This poem caricatures white people as being suicidal and weak-minded: “Black Poets should live–not leap/From steel bridges (like white boys do.” In class, we discussed how this stance on mental health was potentially harmful, but it nonetheless says something negative about how white people act in an attempt to uplift Black identity. This poem is related to the first point because it takes a jab at how black people must behave, pridefully separating Black identity from white identity.
The third point, “We Want An End To The Robbery By The Capitalists Of Our Black Community,” is briefly but allbeit notably touched on in Ishmael Reed’s “I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra.” Another aspect of the Black Arts Movement was the vehement desire to end white exploitation and erasure of black accomplishment, art, and culture. This subtopic in the overall BAM is connected to the belief of separatism between White Americans and African Americans, where BAM thinkers could see no positive side to including white people in the Black community. It was hard for many African Americans at the time to believe that white people would not destroy the community they had built. In “I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra,” this sentiment is conveyed in the quote “O/the untrustworthiness of Egyptologists/who do not know their trips./Who was that/dog-faced man? They asked, the day I rode/from town.” This part of the poem relates the behavior of Egyptologists (who were almost exclusively white people) appropriating ancient culture to the behavior of white people toward African Americans. I interpreted it as an example of a reason for black people to exist exclusively for black people, because white society diminishes black society. In other words, this poem may argue that the only way to prevent white “capitalists” from exploiting black people is through direct contradiction and independence from the current American society.
Lastly, Henry Dumas’s “Son of Msippi” sheds light on the historic poor housing crisis African Americans have been suffering through for generations, connecting strongly with point four, “We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter Of Human Beings.” Overall, the poem contains many descriptions of the struggles of living in the undeveloped land around the Mississippi Delta. The quote “(Bare walk and cane stalk/make a hungry belly talk.)/Up/from the river of death./[...](Walk bare and stalk cane/make a hungry belly talk.),” highlights the lack of proper infrastructure and housing in the area. As I read this poem, it made me think about the systematic deprivation of resources that African Americans experience, especially when they are living in places that are heavily exposed to the elements (especially on levees). This poem focused on the hardships of living in black neighborhoods in America, perhaps not in an entirely negative way, and yet, the right to live in the same conditions as white people still stood. I think the fourth point is especially powerful because it includes the two words “human being.” It seems slightly redundant at face value, but I believe it was meant to highlight the ridiculousness of the housing situation in comparison to white people.
Hey Robenas, the way that you are able to connect each poem to a certain point in the "10-Point Program" feel like valid interpretations that the poet may have tried to convey. Especially with the third point and the poem "I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra" (which never entirely made sense to me), has a similar connection with each other whilst not explicitly mentioning capitalism, the Egyptologist does create this metaphor to seem like a white capitalist comparing themselves to the black society. Perhaps the cowboy also can also represent the independence that African Americans need to escape the capitalists' hold on them.
ReplyDeleteRobenas, I thought it was interesting how you were able to connect each poem to a specific point in the 10 point program, especially how directly the quotes you chose seemed to relate. When first looking at the 10 point program, the demands of the Black Panther party seem very easy to cooperate with (especially the ones you chose to include in your blog). We can see these wishes related in not only the poems you chose to compare, but also how similar themes/wishes appear in other texts we've read in class. I specifically see point 4 in wish for better housing in connection with "A Raisin in the Sun" and the Younger family's fight to be included in the better, white neighborhood. I also particularly liked your analysis of "Of Black Poets Who Think of Suicide" to the Black Panther Party's first point.
ReplyDeleteRobenas, all three of the comparisons you make here are clearly stated and well-supported with quotes from the poems you've chosen. I especially appreciate how your connection of the third point and "I Am a Cowboy in the Boat of Ra" also sets up a discussion of how the many metaphors and cultural references in that poem make a larger point about the exploitation of Black culture and the need for Black separatism. In general, you also bring in connections that these poems have with larger societal problems, like the disproportionate effects of natural disasters on Black people, without diluting your original point. Excellent post.
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