Black is Beautiful

No matter how cliche it may be, black people are indeed beautiful. In the sense that the black race exists in almost all parts of the world. In addition, their race plays a significant part of the world’s history, as much as the world has been an important part of theirs.

The people of various countries contributed a great deal in building black people’s self-perception, as well as the impression they project to society. With all the triumph and misery they have faced, they have developed thinking that made them stand out.

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Evident even in their pieces of literature, are their desire to be noted as a powerful race, equal to any other race, and despite the slavery and mockery, they are very proud of who they are. The poem, “Primer for Blacks”, by Gwendolyn Brooks – the first black poetess who won the Pulitzer Prize – speaks of how being black should be embraced.

That it is not merely having a dark complexion, but it is also a mindset. Black people should be mindful that their people are equal to those who regard them as an inferior race (Brooks). “The conscious shout of the slack in Black is "It's Great to be white. " Thus all that is white has white strength and yours. ” (Brooks) This stanza states that blacks may say that they are also white. It may be interpreted as having gone through suffering, their race rose with the strength and capability that any ordinary white man might have been able to do.

Given the same sensibility and abilities, it is but righteous to assert that they are as superior as any other race, and thus should be perceived and accepted as so by the society and more importantly, themselves (Brooks). “I am a black woman tall as a cypress…

…indestructible Look on me and be renewed” (Evans) Another renowned African-American writer, Mari Evans, wrote, “I am a Black Woman”. Unlike Brooks’ poem, which pertained to all black people, Evans's poem presented all the different aspects of a Black woman’s strength that should be greatly appreciated.

Although it pertained to the women of the race alone, it still did not fail to extend the core truths that Brooks mentioned in her poem; that they have suffered in the hands of other races, through slavery and discrimination and yet they stand tall and proud.

The hardships of their lives made them invincible and as such are fountains of hope and inspiration that may be an envied by other races (Evans). “I’ve been a singer: All the way from Africa to Georgia I carried my sorrow songs. I made ragtime. ” (Hughes)

A third poem that presents the great pride in being black is Langston Hughes’ “Negro”. Like the two earlier given poems, it spoke of the capability of blacks to survive trying times and to survive it with dignity, a feat that should be acknowledged.

It presented the dark times that black people have suffered under different races; how they were servants even in the earliest time recorded in history and how they remained to be discriminated until the present. However, through the use of irony, the poem was able to share how the blacks remain majestic even under slavery. They have made architectural history during their enslavement in Egypt and they have opened a new genre of music with their woes.

These achievements prove that their effort and patience in the time of their bondage, paid off in a way that allowed them to claim that as the night, the blacks will continue to live for another day (Hughes).

“I am a Negro Black as the night is black” (Hughes) Like the night that inevitably comes after day, the black race is going to remain as part of history. All three poems mentioned their contributions in the civilizations of other races. All poems also mentioned the suffering and bondage that they have gone through, all of which bore fruits of goodness to the history of the people that they have served.

It also brought about good for them in a way that it has shaped them to be the people they are today. The events in the past gave them the right to be proud of who they are.

Like metal is served to heat in order to become firm, their race underwent hardships to become the people who can equal any other race. As such, all three poems showed proof that black people should be accepted and embraced. They should not be judged by their color, but by their contributions in life and history.

As such, the black race should be perceived with respect – not only by the whites but by all other races – for who they are and for the things they’ve collectively done for the world’s development.

Works Cited

• Brooks, Gwendolyn. “Primer for Blacks” 1980. Poetry Foundation. 19 February 2009 <http://www. poetryfoundation. org/archive/poem. html? id=182443>.
• Evans, Mari. “I am a Black Woman” 1970. Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge. 19 February 2009 <http://www. ctadams. com/marievans2. html>.
• Hughes, Langston. “Negro”. 1920. Amanda A. 19 February 2009 <http://amandafa. blogspot. com/2007/12/negro-by-langston-hughes. html>.

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