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Elijah Anderson "Incident" by Countee Cullen

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Kevin Young Reads “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay

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I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.

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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, "🤬."
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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If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,

While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursed lot.

If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy

Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen we must meet the common foe!

Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
What though before us lies the open grave?

Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!

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Here is a scene from The Great Debaters where the poem is featured.

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Here is a scene from The Great Debaters where the poem is featured.

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The great debaters. I, too, sing America.

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Kevin Young Discusses “If We Must Die” by Claude McKay

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The author means, if they must die, it must be in a brave manor.

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They want to die in a civil way, in honor.

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He remembers his childhood and how slurs were used against him in a hurtful manor.

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The insult might have been an influence from parents, etc. The insult was because he was not the skin color as the other boy. This makes it more devastating because the child probably does not even know how harsh the insult is or what is going on in the real world with African Americans. A child hearing this from another is probably worse than hearing it from an adult.

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The speaker is speaking in a hopeful tone because when migrating north, people will see how they are the same. He believes he will be able to live life freely, the way he deserves.

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The details of the kitchen in the poem state that tomorrow he wont have to leave the dinner table once more. He says eventually they will realize his greatness.

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In america today, we have realized the greatness of people of every skin color. Although there is still discrimination, we are evolving into a better place where peace is possible.