The Ballad Of Birmingham, By Duley Randall

The topic that chosen was to compare the way a short story treats death with the way a poem reveals death. The short story chosen was “The Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin and the poem chosen was “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. They each have their own way of expressing the nature of death.

A poem which explores the feeling of loss is ‘Visiting Hour’ by Norman MacCaig. In this powerful and moving poem, the writer uses techniques such as imagery, symbolism and word choice to effectively grip the reader and keeps them with him throughout the poem.

In 'Ballad of Birmingham,' Dudley Randall illustrates a conflict between a child who wishes to march for civil rights and a mother who wishes only to protect her child. Much of this poem is read as dialogue between a mother and a child, a style which gives it an intimate tone and provides insight to the feelings of the characters. Throughout the poem the child is eager to go into Birmingham and march for freedom with the people there. The mother, on the other hand, is very adamant that the child should not go because it is dangerous. It is obvious that the child is concerned about the events surrounding the march and wants to be part of the movement. The child expresses these feelings in a way

So the little girl dresses in a white dress, shoes, and gloves to leave to go to the church. Her mother thinks the church is much safer for her. The little girl leaves and the mother hears a loud explosion. She immediately runs to the church to see what had happened. Her daughter is nowhere to be found. The only thing the mother could find was one of her daughters little white shoes. Stated in an article from the online database,”The 16th Street church was the first and largest black church in Birmingham. Located in the heart of downtown, it was known to host such historic figures as Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, and, later, Hillary Clinton, as well as a junior senator from Illinois who would later become America 's first black president. During the 1960s, 16th Street was the hub of the city 's civil-rights activities. There, civil-rights activists strategized, held mass meetings, sponsored rallies, and planned demonstrations in the fight against segregation.” It also states, “At the height of the civil-rights movement, Birmingham was known as Bombingham. By the fall of 1963, there had been more than 80 unsolved bombings in the city, including at the home of A.D King, Martin Luther King Jr. 's brother.” “It was "a moment that the world would never forget," Lonnie Bunch told The Washington Post.” During this time period, it was an era in American history that many Americans never want to happen again. The era when segregation was

“Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall is a poem published in 1968 revealing a conversation between an African American mother and her daughter. The poem starts off with the young girl asking her mother for permission to participate in the Freedom March in downtown Birmingham; however, her mother refuses because reasonably so, parents do not want their child caught up in the middle of chaos, especially a dangerous one. During the 1960s, riots, influenced by violence such as bomb, hose, and dog attacks, were common. It is understandable that the mother did not want her daughter exposed to this violence. In fact, she wanted her daughter as far away from the terror as possible. The one place that many would resort to would be a sacred place, the church. Throughout history, the church have always been looked at as a place of holiness and can be referred to as a place of safety. Realistically enough, just because the church is deemed a holy and sacred place does not mean that it is exempt from evil terrors.

“The Ballad of Birmingham” along with the Review of “4 Little girls” are personal and touching. Randall and Ebert use a language that speak to the heart and move the reader, Ebert even goes into discussing how those four children could have done something great and monumental however, since they were killed at such a young age we will never know what would have become of them (Ebert paragraphs 3 and four). He even uses description to make the girls seem innocuous and pure causing the act to look even more jarring and barbarous. Further more, both discuss the disheartening un-saftey of the town. Dudley Randal portrays this in the repeated refrain where the mother says “No, baby, no, you many not go, For the dogs are fierce and wild, And clubs and horses, guns and jails Aren’t good for a little child,”(Randall verse 2).Throughout the poem he is able to clearly emphasize the mother’s worry for her child. Roger Ebert discusses the major problem of racism at the time and how the bombing was “the catalyst for the civil right movement, the moment when all of America could look away no longer from the face of racism,”(Ebert paragraph 1). On the other hand, neither of the articles mention where Birmingham is or about how the bombing of the church was a recherché example of how people with a skin color other than white were treated at the

For centuries, racism has plagued America. People of black ethnicity have been specifically targeted at the most. The bombing of Birmingham, Alabama was an especially tragic example of said attacks. Countless innocent black men, women, and children were shot and killed in the events following the bombing.

The main idea of the book revolves around the issue of discrimination and inequality in the 1940’s against the Black community in Mississippi. The book is written by Anne Moody, who throws light on the difficulties she faced as a black women living in Mississippi. The book talks about Moody’s early years and her family’s instability and struggle living in a racial environment of Mississippi. Moody was chafed by the indifference and insensitivity that the Black people faced at the mediocre social and economic positions allotted to them.

     The Ballad of Birmingham resembles a traditional ballad in that it tells a story in a song-like manner. The didactic tone seeks to teach us something; in this case it’s the theme of needless destruction. There are many devices the author uses to create such a tone and to tell such a story.

The poem I chose to write about is called “Ballad of Birmingham,” by Dudley Randall, (Lit. Kirszner & Mandell, 2012 pg. 378 ). This poem is about one of the four little African-American girls that were killed in a church bombing that was orchestrated by white supremacists back in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Seemed to provide me with a private context for exploring my own grief at the loss of my father” (Stanford). She informs her readers that while writing these poems, she was going through a terrible time for her and her family, so it's understandable why the theme of grief is very

Dudley Randall’s “Ballad of Birmingham” is a look into the effects of racism on a personal level. The poem is set in Alabama during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The tone of the title alludes to the city of Birmingham as a whole. The poem gives the reader, instead, a personal look into a tragic incident in the lives of a mother and her daughter. The denotation of the poem seems to simply tell of the sadness of a mother losing her child. The poem’s theme is one of guilt, irony, and the grief of losing a child. The mother feels responsible for the death of her child. The dramatic irony of the mother’s view of church as being a “safe haven” for her child is presented to the reader through the mother’s insistence that the young girl

The “Ballad of birmingham” was a moment of unforgettable horror when the people of Birmingham,Alabama bombed a church. This is why Dudley Randall chose this experience to be formed into a poem. The freedom march of birmingham was african americans trying to lift the jim crow laws. The people who weren't for change did not like the marches so things got physical.

Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s was a hostile environment that centered on racism towards us African Americans. The town became full of hatred, protest, and violence. It would become the stomping grounds for one of the biggest civil rights movements in American history. A change was needed. One that made everyone equal, and I was eagerly ready to support the cause.

In the poems you have studied a recurring theme is that of ‘loss’. This can take many forms: death; identity; hope or loss of innocence