Years 1918-1937

Major Historical Events: Stock Market Crash of 1929, 19th amendment ratified (August 18, 1920), and FDR elected (November 1932).

Major Authors / Works: Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Jean Toomer.

Years 1950 - Present Day

Major Historical Events: Terrorist attacks on 9/11, JFK assassinated on Nov 22, 1963, Korean War (1950-1953).

Major Authors / Works: Ernest Hemmingway, Jamaica Kinkaid, and Kurt Vonnegut

Years 1950 - Present Day

Major Historical Events: Vietnam War (1955-1975), Cuban Missile Crisis (October 16-28, 1962), 

Major Authors / Works: Timothy Yu, Joy Harjo, and Nikki Giovanni

Dates: 1926

POV: First Person

Themes: Inclusion, racism, equality, inequality, and hope.

Connection: The overt and underlying racism during the Harlem Renaissance created a flourishing isolated black community that advocated for themselves popping up in Harlem, New York. “I, Too” by Langston Hughes exemplifies the hope and longing to be equal, Hughes writes, “Tomorrow, / I’ll be at the table / Nobody’ll dare / Say to me, / ‘Eat in the kitchen’” (8-13). The turning of a new page, a “Tomorrow”, gives the possibility and hope to a different future in which all races are equal. Hughes closes the poem with unity of America and inclusion, Hughes writes, “I, too am America.” (18). The finality of the period and and connection to the title cements Hughes fight for equality.

Dates: June 19, 1978

POV: 2nd person

Themes: sexism, domesticity, and mother/daughter relationships, sexual reputation, and gender roles

Connection: Jamaica Kinkaid represents the ideas of post modernism tackling the issue of traditional gender roles in the point of view of a mother to her daughter. Jamaica shows the absurdities of gender roles and reputation of a woman that must be upheld, the mother scolds, “this is how to behave in the presence of men who don’t know you very well, and this way they won’t recognize immediately the slut I have warned you against becoming” (23-25). The scolding of her daughter instills the hundreds of years of sexism and slut shaming in a new generation, perpetuating the cycle. Not only does the mother perpetuate the cycle of overt sexism, but also the stereotype of the “super mom”, Kinkaid explains, “cook pumpkin fritters in very hot sweet oil; soak your little cloths right after you take them off; when buying cotton to make yourself a nice blouse, be sure that it doesn’t have gum in it, because that way it won’t hold up well after a wash” (3-5). The drilling of customs that women are traditionally made to do has created a toxic cycle oppressing women for centuries.

Dates: Feb 28, 2020

POV: First Person

Themes: Freedom, Citizenship, voting, democracy, and Inequality.

Connection: The emphasis of importance and significance of even just one vote, Giovanni stresses, “It’s a Vote / Saying you are / A citizen” (7-9). Giovanni emphasizes that a vote’s value is more than just an opinion, but a gift. The importance of just one vote should be seen as something coveted and treasured because it is not something that is guaranteed, a vote can be thrown out for any number of reasons, Giovanni writes, “I must be able / To vote / If I’m in the hospital / If I’m in the old folks’ home / If I’m needing a ride / To the Polling Place” (37-42). Giovanni protests the establishment, an old system that had the laws in place to be able to improve the system, however with people not voting or not being able to vote, the system stays the same.