by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator
The city of Baltimore has been in the news this week as America's preeminent racist, Donald John Trump, has stayed busy savagely attacking Elijah Cummings, the black statesman who represents most of that proud city in Congress. In his racist screeds against Representative Cummings, Trump also chose to disparage Baltimore itself - calling the city "a rat-and-rodent-infested mess" and "a very dangerous and filthy place" all of which were racist dog whistles designed to depict Baltimore as an impoverished black ghetto.
After Trump's Twitter outburst it was revealed on social media that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a major slumlord in the city of Baltimore.
Several weeks ago I used a poem by poet Countee Cullen in this space to honor "Pride Month." Cullen, a gay, black man who was a leading light of the Harlem Renaissance, used that poem, "Fruit of the Flower," to remind parents of gay youth that their children were biological extensions of themselves, products of the root system generated and nourished by the parents. They are the literal creations of the parents.
There is a bit of mystery surrounding the childhood of Countee Cullen, who grew up living with his grandmother in New York City - but some historians think it is likely that he was born in the city of Baltimore.
Today I would like to highlight another poem by Countee Cullen, "Incident," which tells of something that occurred to him during a childhood visit to Baltimore - something the poet always remembered. It shows the enduring power of one solitary racist word. If that one word can have that much impact on a child, just think about the impact that a full-bore racist assault from the President of the United States can have on children of color.
The racism and bigotry that Donald Trump is using for short-term political gain is casting a literal pall over the mental health and future of our country. It's time for Americans of every color to stand together and tell Trump that he has to leave office - for the good of the country!
It worked in Puerto Rico.
Incident
by Countee Cullen
Poetry Appreciator
The city of Baltimore has been in the news this week as America's preeminent racist, Donald John Trump, has stayed busy savagely attacking Elijah Cummings, the black statesman who represents most of that proud city in Congress. In his racist screeds against Representative Cummings, Trump also chose to disparage Baltimore itself - calling the city "a rat-and-rodent-infested mess" and "a very dangerous and filthy place" all of which were racist dog whistles designed to depict Baltimore as an impoverished black ghetto.
After Trump's Twitter outburst it was revealed on social media that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a major slumlord in the city of Baltimore.
Several weeks ago I used a poem by poet Countee Cullen in this space to honor "Pride Month." Cullen, a gay, black man who was a leading light of the Harlem Renaissance, used that poem, "Fruit of the Flower," to remind parents of gay youth that their children were biological extensions of themselves, products of the root system generated and nourished by the parents. They are the literal creations of the parents.
There is a bit of mystery surrounding the childhood of Countee Cullen, who grew up living with his grandmother in New York City - but some historians think it is likely that he was born in the city of Baltimore.
Today I would like to highlight another poem by Countee Cullen, "Incident," which tells of something that occurred to him during a childhood visit to Baltimore - something the poet always remembered. It shows the enduring power of one solitary racist word. If that one word can have that much impact on a child, just think about the impact that a full-bore racist assault from the President of the United States can have on children of color.
The racism and bigotry that Donald Trump is using for short-term political gain is casting a literal pall over the mental health and future of our country. It's time for Americans of every color to stand together and tell Trump that he has to leave office - for the good of the country!
It worked in Puerto Rico.
Incident
by Countee Cullen
- Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, “Nigger.”
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December:
Of all the things that happened there
That’s all that I remember.
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