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New York : The Struggle For Equality

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To New York; the Struggle for Equality “New York! I say New York . . . deep negro sleep” (Senghor 685). Léopold Sédar Senghor was a famous poet most widely known for his work in the 1940s and 1950s. He wanted to inspire pride in the culture of Africa and wrote extensively about the interactions and conflicts between Africa and the West. One of his more famous poems, To New York, was written in 1956 and portrays the racial differences in the United States, specifically New York. The 50s were a critical time in the civil rights movement in the United States. In this section, from the poem To New York, Léopold Sédar Senghor talks about a sense of renewal. By bringing in the old Africa, it would make New York more pure and restore the unity …show more content…

The next line also holds a strong metaphor that is crucial to Senghor’s message, “Let it wash the rust from your steel joints, like an oil of life” (685), He feels that New York is falling apart (rusty) and that by bringing more of the ways of Africa to the city it would greatly benefit it. He refers to the blood as the, “Oil of Life” that can lubricate the rust (the racial dissent) which would make things smoother between the races. By allowing the blood to flow together into one it would wash away the rust of the steel joints. This describes the rust as the views towards blacks. By joining their blood into one and accepting them into society it would wash away the rust and the discrimination and allow for the joint to operate freely and smoothly once again. The joint can be seen as society as a whole and when there is racial discrimination it does not operate properly and smoothly. When the rust is washed away it allows society to work better as a whole and more smoothly, which is exactly what Senghor is asking of people of this world. Also by describing this as the “Oil of life” it demonstrates that equality provides smoothness in the joints of society and promotes fairness and equality. Further into the last part of the poem, it reveals an elaborate metaphor where Senghor references his Christianity and the symbol of Jesus’ suffering on the cross, “The reconciliation of Lion

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