Ballad Of Birmingham, By Dudley Randall

In the 1960’s, black and white individuals were not recognized as being equal. The two races were treated differently, and the African Americans did not enjoy the same freedoms as the whites. The African Americans never had a chance to speak their mind, voice their opinions, or enjoy the same luxuries that the white people attained. Through various actions/efforts like the lunch counter sit-ins, freedom rides, and bus boycotts, the black people confronted segregation face on and worked to achieve equality and freedom.

During the 60s, discrimination was very strong and took place during this time, when it came to the Jim Crow laws, blacks were excluded from what whites had the ability to do. In the South, and around it these laws were strongly enforced, African - Americans felt as if they would be safer by heading North. In 1810 whites thought that blacks were here in this world to be put to work. They thought blacks did not deserve any respect. (Jim Crow Laws n. pag.) For about 80 years, most of the United States, pushed towards Jim Crow laws . “From Delaware to California, and from North Dakota to Texas, many states could impose legal punishments on people for consorting with members of another race.” (Jim Crow… n. pag.) The laws kept both blacks and whites from sharing anything with each other. It caused a lot of hatred towards one another but all they wanted was to be treated the same. Although there were many laws, many of them had many reasons to them. Whites did not use the blacks names in a respectful manner, they called them by their first name. The blacks had to call them by their name with Mr., Mrs., Miss, sir, or mam. (Pilgram n. pag.) If blacks rode in the same car as a white and the white

The 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing on September 15, 1963 has been one of the most historic bombing in the African American community. Since then, the Spike Lee’s Four Little Girls film and the poem, Ballad of Birmingham, have been created to commemorate the event and the loss of the four beautiful young girls. Both have received awards for their outstanding and thoughtful works that both artist put into their projects. The movie, Four Little Girls, was a very stimulating movie because it was not your typical scripted play. It was a documentary of all the family, friends, and community that were affected by this event. On the other hand, the poem, Ballad of Birmingham, was very eye opening because it put a new perspective of the church bombing.

“But you may go to church instead” (Randall,15) a mother thought her child would be safer in such a sacred place rather than being a part of the march that just might have been safer. The poem “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, has multiple themes, but the one that sticks out is violence, which is because it is so powerful and brings the whole poem together. There is also a lot of imagery shown through this whole poem that can put a horrible picture in your head because of how sad the poem really is.

During the 1960’s of American history violent acts were aimed at African Americans in the name of racism and segregation. In a case such as this one, many would seek refuge from the government, but to little surprise, cries for refuge went unanswered. Making matters worse was the fact that the Government allowed segregation to continue due to legal documents in many southern states. Acceptable forms of oppression were separated into four categories: racial segregation; voter suppression, in southern states; denial of economic opportunity; private acts of violence aimed at African Americans. At this time, many civil rights laws were

During the 1960s a lot of white people discriminated African Americans. A lot of African Americans were mistreated and judged by the white. A lot of people, including African Americans were also treated badly have badly because they were poor,handicapped,or, of course due to their race.

A few mere decades ago, it would have been unheard of for two people of different racial backgrounds, especially one of those being white, to casually sit down in a diner and order lunch together - such was the case of America in the 1960s. During that time, many ethnic groups of minority background - though mainly African-Americans - were considered ‘lesser’ people than the privileged whites. As a result, many laws separating them from the marginalized groups came into effect and oppressed people of color all around the nation. Because of this, segregation in the 60s had the biggest impact on the Civil Rights Movement due to its longstanding history, powerful connections, and deep-rooted effects.

Then background and race in the United States was a big deal, it still is relevant today but not as much. Black’s got treated much worse than whites, they had their own schools, drinking fountains, bathrooms,etc. Meanwhile black public schools got the tiniest bit of money, white schools had much more of it and there schools were in very good condition unlike black schools. If you were black you could of gone to jail for touching a white and you possibly could get sent away your entire life. Supposing that you were not white, not many people would want you around them nor their family. You had more privileges being white than any other race at the time. Activists used, during the Civil Rights movement, multiple strategies that resulted in both successes and failures.

The 1960’s was a decade riddled with racism and discrimination towards African Americans, especially in the Deep South. Blacks were barred from voting through poll taxes and literacy tests too difficult even for decently educated whites. All public places became segregated after the Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and remained separated through the 60’s and even the 70’s. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized blacks, burning their homes and senselessly lynching thousands of black men, while many city and state governments in the South looked the other way.

In an interview of Carolyn Mckinstry who was the 15 year old Sunday School secretary at the First Baptist Church at the time of the bombing done by Lottie L .Joiner . In the interview Mckinstry describes what happened from her perspective that day and even how the bombing personally affected her after; “I suffered from almost 20 years from depression. I had a rash on my hands that I couldn’t get rid of. I couldn’t sleep at night. It took me a long time to get over that”. (Joiner) This interview was just one of many done by either survivors or witnesses of the bombing but perhaps the most notable tribute was a poem entitled “Ballad of Birmingham” written by acclaimed poet and poetry publisher Dudley Randall. The poem was written in response to and dedication to the girls that were killed in the bombing and was set to music by Jerry Moore in

Racism in Atlanta in the 1960s was very common. Atlanta was Martin Luther King Jr.’s hometown. It was a typical southern city. The schools were segregated. People of color were only allowed to use colored restrooms. They were only allowed to drink in colored fountains. Colored people were not allowed at some restaurants. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in a protest on 10/19/60. In his protests he would refuse to leave his seat for whites. He also had sit in protests. Martin Luther King Jr. was charged with a misdemeanor. Ebenezer Baptist Church was a black church. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher there and he preached for peace,

Commencing in the late 19th century, state level governments approved segregation acts, identified as the Jim Crow laws, and assigned limitations on voting requirements that caused the African American population economically and diplomatically helpless (Davis, n.d.). The civil rights movement commenced, intensely and assertively, in the early 1940s when the societal composition of black America took an increasingly urban, popular appeal (Korstad & Lichtenstein, 1988). The 1950s and 1960s was well known for racial conflicts and civil rights protests. The civil rights movement in the United States during the late 1950s and 1960s was based on political and social strives to achieve

The 1960s brought about changes economically and socially. The Civil Rights Movement was alive and moving. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s goal was to hopefully put an end to racial discrimination and to restore voting rights in the South. Clearly the 60s was not the beginning of the fight for civil rights in America. The 18th century in the United State was plagued by hatred, racism and slavery. Slavery affected the entire nation. Slavery destroyed families by taking members of one’s captive to work as slaves. Abolitionists of all races began protesting against slavery. As slaves grew tired of intense abuse, slaves planned escape routes, signals and even songs. By 1843, slaves were escaping

In 1963 four little girls were killed in the 16th street Baptist church bombing that struck the community of Birmingham. Dudley Randall wrote “Ballad of Birmingham” as a response to the event to express the emotions a community was feeling. Randall captures the tragic moment of a church bombing by using situational and dramatic irony illuminating the destructiveness of the Civil Rights Movement. Developing overwhelming emotion in the poem, Randall employs situational irony to highlight the horrific event. The poem contains situational irony as Randall defines the mother’s reactions for, “The mother smiled to know her child/

Ballad of Birmingham, written by the poet Dudley Randall relives a tragic moment in time in which four little girls died when a church was purposefully exploded. This poem is based on the incident that occurred in Birmingham, Alabama. This poem vividly shows the perspective of a mother losing her child. Most of the poem includes a mother daughter discussion regarding the participation of the freedom march. The mother explains to her daughter that it is far too dangerous for her to be participate, therefore she sends her daughter to church, where she believes that she would be safe. The mother later hears of the explosion and runs over to find out that her daughter had been killed by noticing her daughter’s shoe on the ground. In Ballad of Birmingham, Dudley Randall uses voice, imagery, and sound to show how the tragic event revolves around a theme of racism/mother’s love, which most readers can empathize to.