If We Must Die

"If We Must Die" is a 1919 poem by Claude McKay published in the July issue of The Liberator. McKay wrote the poem as a response to mob attacks by white Americans upon African-American communities during Red Summer.[1] The poem was later reprinted in The Messenger and the Workers' Dreadnought (London) later that year.[2] The poem was also read to Congress that year by Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republican Senator from Massachusetts.[3]

Critical response

Wallace Thurman considered the poem as embodying the essence of the New Negro movement as it was not aimed at arousing sympathy, but rather comprised of self-assertion.[3]

Legacy

The poem was recited in the film August 28: A Day in the Life of a People, which debuted at the opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016.[4][5][6]

References

  1. ↑ McWhirter, Cameron (2011). Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America. Henry Holt and Company. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9781429972932.
  2. ↑ Donlon, Anne (2016). ""A Black Man Replies": Claude McKay's Challenge to the British Left". Lateral. 5 (1, May 2016). doi:10.25158/L5.1.2. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 Notten, Eleonore van (1994). Wallace Thurman's Harlem Renaissance. Rodopi. ISBN 9051836929. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  4. ↑ Davis, Rachaell (September 22, 2016). "Why Is August 28 So Special To Black People? Ava DuVernay Reveals All In New NMAAHC Film". Essence.
  5. ↑ Keyes, Allison (2017). ""In This Quiet Space for Contemplation, a Fountain Rains Down Calming Waters"". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Ava Duvernay's 'August 28' Delves Into Just How Monumental That Date Is To Black History In America". Bustle.com. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
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