Lord Why Did You Make Me Black - The Poem Analysis

The poem is a lamentation poem that points out a list of questions about race that are assumed to be answered through an analysis of the most beautiful and useful things in the world like crude oil and black diamond. The poem is made to make an amicable conclusion about the reason for having the black and white race. It majorly aims at airing out the fact that humans egocentrism has made the Whites associate anything bad with black color. For instance, the line Black is what people are listed is a valid hypothesis since many gadgets have blacklist management for which disruptive people are usually listed. The author hates the characterization of black with evil things.

The Yeefon expresses his concern on why black people are associated with mistreats, have kinky hair, thick lips, and thick bones. The central claim that Yeefon poses is about the ruthless appeals that people make upon the Blacks, yet God acknowledges that all human beings are created in the image of God. Yeefon urges his audience to stop characterizing black color to all sorts of bad things since God himself claims that we were made in his likeness. He also claims that Black is a collection of all colors thus urges his audience to refrain from underrating it since it can yield any form of life on earth.

Literature enhances social justice since the poet offers a chance for the audience to realize the social differences created among them in conjunction with what God thinks. For instance, the poet through his poem provides an opportunity for the reader to know the aspect by which the scriptures claim that God created all humans in his likeness and that no human should be associated with negativities like the darkness. The line, I made you the color of coal, from which beautiful diamonds are formed shows that black is the source of all the beautiful things in the world.

Part 2

Question 1

King defines segregation by giving the history of America and how the black people had been promised a lot, but little had been done to keep the promises. The Negros had been deprived of their constitutional rights, and King advises that his audience should take a stand to correct the oppression by advocating for their rights at that moment. He recommends that black people should demand instant racial justice as opposed to waiting for continuing reforms.

Question 2

By saying tranquilizing drug of gradualism, King implies that if the black people accept slow and progressive changes, then they would not get the full racial justice. King warns the audience to resist gradualism because he believed that the time was right to rise from the darkness that accompanies segregation. In his opinion, equality is something that was intended by God, and to attain this, black people were obliged to fight for democratic freedom.

Question 3

In King's vision, the oppressed do not rise and crush their oppressors because of his philosophy that freedom should not be fought for with bitterness and hatred. King was against violence. The definition of the dream is that of persistence in a non-violent manner until the authoritarians give in and grant citizenship rights. He believed that white people freedom was intertwined with that of the Negros.

Question 4

King uses a lot of metaphors to make his speech more relevant. For instance, he compares the Emancipation Proclamation as "hopes to millions of Negro slaves." This is because it had a lot of promises to end oppression. After that, he states that America had given its citizens a "bad check." This means that the promises were unfulfilled. King also alludes to the end of slavery as a "joyous daybreak" to describe how the former slaves were now happy. By saying racial injustice is "quicksand," King aimed to educate all races that without equality, America would sink. King envisions the transformation of Mississippi from being a "desert" state to becoming an "oasis" of freedom and justice. The metaphors define change from injustice and oppression to freedom and equality.