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| omnipoetics:riot [2025/04/24 00:51] – [Historical Background] heather | omnipoetics:riot [2025/04/24 01:01] (current) – [Works Cited] heather |
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| This poem was published in the 20th century during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. More importantly, it was published in 1969 right after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination as a response to how the Black community reacted. | This poem was published in the 20th century during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. More importantly, it was published in 1969 right after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination as a response to how the Black community reacted. |
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| At the beginning of the poem, there is an epigraph from MLK himself: “A riot is the language of the unheard.” This line comes from his speech “The Other America” which he gave at Stanford University. In the speech King condemned the act of rioting, believing nonviolence was the answer to gaining equality. He also made a point to connect rioting with the poor Black Americans were being directly affected by the worsening economy and equality gap, which he also condemned; if it wasn’t a problem then there would be no riots. He connected these two points with the above-mentioned quote going further to say: “What is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened…” | At the beginning of the poem, there is an epigraph from MLK himself: “A riot is the language of the unheard” ("The MLK Speech") This line comes from his speech “The Other America” which he gave at Stanford University ("The MLK Speech"). In the speech King condemned the act of rioting, believing nonviolence was the answer to gaining equality. He also made a point to connect rioting with the poor Black Americans were being directly affected by the worsening economy and equality gap, which he also condemned; if it wasn’t a problem then there would be no riots. He connected these two points with the above-mentioned quote going further to say: “What is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened…” |
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| {{tag>English USA Poetry Race_Culture_Identity}} | |
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| ===== Works Cited ===== | ===== Works Cited ===== |
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| Gonzalez, Diana, Samantha Lazcano, and Esha Dani. "Gwendolyn Brooks: Tragedies That Led to the Black Consciousness." //Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy//, 10 May 2019, https://chicagodefender.com/?s=. | Gonzalez, Diana, Samantha Lazcano, and Esha Dani. "Gwendolyn Brooks: Tragedies That Led to the Black Consciousness." //Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy//, 10 May 2019, https://chicagodefender.com/?s=. |
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| | "The MLK Speech." //Grosse Pointe Historical Society//, https://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/#:~:text=And%20I%20must%20say%20tonight,justice%20have%20not%20been%20met. |
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| “Themes and Variations: New Looks at Gwendolyn Brooks.” //Poetry Foundation//, 30 May 2017, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/142290/themes-and-variations. | “Themes and Variations: New Looks at Gwendolyn Brooks.” //Poetry Foundation//, 30 May 2017, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/142290/themes-and-variations. |
| - [[https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/gwendolyn-brooks/riot-0|themorgan.com]] | - [[https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/online/gwendolyn-brooks/riot-0|themorgan.com]] |
| - [[https://theweek.com/speedreads/917022/riot-language-unheard-martin-luther-king-jr-explained-53-years-ago|The Week]] | - [[https://theweek.com/speedreads/917022/riot-language-unheard-martin-luther-king-jr-explained-53-years-ago|The Week]] |
| - [[https://www.gphistorical.org/mlk/mlkspeech/#:~:text=And%20I%20must%20say%20tonight,justice%20have%20not%20been%20met.|Martin Luther King Speech]] | |
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| | {{tag>English USA Poetry Race_Culture_Identity}} |
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