Poem- "Primer for Blacks" by Gwendolyn Brooks

[Ms. Knarr]

Primer For Blacks By Gwendolyn Brooks 1917–2000



Blackness

is a title,

is a preoccupation,

is a commitment Blacks

are to comprehend—

and in which you are

to perceive your Glory.



The conscious shout

of all that is white is

“It’s Great to be white.”

The conscious shout

of the slack in Black is

"It's Great to be white."

Thus all that is white

has white strength and yours.



The word Black

has geographic power,

pulls everybody in:

Blacks here—

Blacks there—

Blacks wherever they may be.

And remember, you Blacks, what they told you—

remember your Education:

“one Drop—one Drop

maketh a brand new Black.”

Oh mighty Drop.

______And because they have given us kindly

so many more of our people



Blackness

stretches over the land.

Blackness—

the Black of it,

the rust-red of it,

the milk and cream of it,

the tan and yellow-tan of it,

the deep-brown middle-brown high-brown of it,

the “olive” and ochre of it—

Blackness

marches on.



The huge, the pungent object of our prime out-ride

is to Comprehend,

to salute and to Love the fact that we are Black,

which is our “ultimate Reality,”

which is the lone ground

from which our meaningful metamorphosis,

from which our prosperous staccato,

group or individual, can rise.



Self-shriveled Blacks.

Begin with gaunt and marvelous concession:

YOU are our costume and our fundamental bone.



All of you—

you COLORED ones,

you NEGRO ones,

those of you who proudly cry

“I’m half INDian”—

those of you who proudly screech

“I’VE got the blood of George WASHington in MY veins”

ALL of you—

you proper Blacks,

you half-Blacks,

you wish-I-weren’t Blacks,

Niggeroes and Niggerenes.



You.

[adamzaha]

1. This poem, to me, has an overall strong feeling to it. It states that being an African American is a great thing, and something to be proud of. This poem also condemns the many African Americans who don't want to be black and boast about being better by saying they're half white or half something else. The main goal of this poem is to give strength to the African American race who have suffered with discrimination and hardships because of their skin color, but have stayed true to their culture and roots. In this poem there really aren't a lot of literary devices, and only one that sticks out which is free verse. There is practically no structure in the writing of this poem.

2. I like this piece because of the strong vibe it gives. It has a strong almost patriotic feel to the poem. I also like the writing style she used in this poem, it made the poem very easy to feel and understand. I also liked the use of capitalization to give emphasis to certain words in the poem. The overall reaction I had to this poem was that it really did show and give good reasons to be proud of their color. Also, it showed that back in that time there was a really strong feeling towards being black and being proud because of it.

3. 1) What do you think she means when she says " Self- Shriveled Blacks"? 2) Is she condemning whites in the second stanza, or blacks who think their white? 3) I the overall poem does she give the feeling of being black is a burden? 4) Do you think she is proud to be Black?

[kevinskocypec]

1) I completely agree with what Adam stated. This poem is about being proud of oneself. The mindset used to be "It’s Great to be white." The poem is about black people realizing that they are special, so despite their situation, it truely was great to be black.

2) I truely understood what Gwendolyn Brooks was stating in this poem. I enjoyed reading it because not many people of the time had the positive mindset like this. One should be proud of who he or she is and not feel like not being white is a terrible thing. This piece was very inspirational and I had a great time learning from it.

3) (Answering Adam's Question 2) I feel like she is stating that whites thought they were superior, but letting the blacks know that they should not feel like white people were all great, and the blacks should be proud of who they are. The mindset of "whites are great" falsely existed everywhere and Brooks was letting them know that the mindset was not a good one.

My Question: Is the last stanza meant to enforce Brooks' poem on the black population or influence everyone one their opinions towards whites?

[colleenpoling]

1. I agree with Adam that the overall meaning is to express the greatness of being an African American and stressing that one should be proud of it. People who try to ignore their race of say they're half this or that, they are only hurting their selves. Race and background is something one should be proud of not ashamed or in competition for at all. Another huge point of this poem is to give respect to African Americans and understand their hardships. This poem was written in a few brief stanzas and was very free flowing.

2. I like this poem because it ties into a few of the other pieces i read about race and African American's struggles. It really gave a truthful honest sense of feeling to the reader. I was a easy read, and was very upfront with word choice. i didn't have to read too far into this piece which I enjoyed. The upbeat positive meaning of this poem was what made it pleasant to read and comprehend.

3. (response to #4) I think she is very proud to be black. This whole poem is about owning you're background/race and being proud of it. I think she is trying to tell others that aren't proud of it to change and be happy and stand up for their color and beliefs.
My Question:
1.In the fourth stanza, what do you think was the significance of the other color use?

[allisoncorchado]

1. I agree with everyone above. This poem was created to show how African Americans were looked down upon and how their was no pride in being black for those who fell victim to the mindset thrust upon them by the whites. The poem shows the anger that the author had towards those who had no pride in being black. The author starts off by saying that blackness is a title and preoccupation, meaning that once you are born black you are marked as unimportant. The author is saying that when you are born black you must comprehend that there is no glory in being black. The author says "It is Great to be white". Yet after saying this the author says that all of this is wrong. That they need to comprehend that they can rise. That they need to comprehend and salute an love the fact that they are black. The last line of the poem is You. Meaning that you are the one who made being black a bad thing. The author wanted to write this poem to show the anger that she had towards those who tried to hide the fact that they were black, those who decided to pretend they were not, instead of deciding to admit to being black and use it to make change.

2. I really liked this poem because I felt that the author did a really good job at attacking your emotions and making you feel the anger inside her and how frustrating it must have been for her to watch all of the blacks to fall victim instead of coming together and rising above. It makes you understand another aspect of the African American hardship. This piece opened my eyes to another frustration of the African American Lifestyle and helped me to better understand all of the underlying mind set tricks they had to go through, teaching them that they were worthless.

3. Response to Colleen's question- I think that the significance of the color use was to identify the different types and colors of blacks before she began to speak about how they tried to use their color to hide that they were fully black. In the last line she says "Blackness marches on." She says this to show how no matter what type of black you are or any other type of race your trying to pass by as you are still black, and the black is what will identify you. My question- Do you think it was okay that blacks tried to pass by as other races? or Do you think it was wrong for them to deny their own race?

[adamzaha]

1.I agree with everyone's comments above stating that the blacks should be happy and proud of their race and background. Also, I agree with them saying that they should not try to deny their race but instead to profess it and take part in it.

2. In response to Allie's question- I think it was wrong for them to try to deny their race and act like something they really weren't. Also, in that day there were also fights between blacks because of who is more white then the each other which was also wrong.
my question- What do you think she means when she says "to salute and to Love the fact that we are Black,which is our 'ultimate Reality'"?

[allisoncorchado]

1. I agree with Adam in response to my question. It also think that it was wrong for them to deny their race. I think that you should be proud of who you are no matter what the circumstances. Also, the fact that they were black still carried along with them and they were treated the same, so when you think about it it wasn't really worth it to try and hide who you were. As i have already quoted before, the author said "Blackness marches on" meaning that it is always a part of you and will always prevail.

2. Response to Adam's question- I think what the author meant when she said " to salute and to love the fact that we are Black, which is our 'ultimate Reality'." was that when they can learn to be proud of themselves and not be afraid or ashamed to be black is when they can live in their "Ultimate Reality" which is, their ultimate happy lifestyle. I think this because they always lived in fear of who they were and thats not the right way to live, so once they can accept who they are they can live a happier life. My question- Do you think this poem helped other blacks to realize that they should be proud of who they are?

[nickchiarello]

I agree with everyone above. African Americans should not deny their race, whether they are being discriminated against or segregated. It is important to be your own individual and stand up for who you are. In this case, Gwendolyn Brooks explains that the superior "Great Whites" are not so superior. She implies that not even the "great whites" should tell the blacks what to do. I agree with Allie's statement that no black person had pride in the color of their skin. No one should be ashamed that they are black, but rather be proud of their heritage. The last line "you" can tell the reader, that you are yourself and do not be embarrassed of who you are.

2. I like this poem a lot. It persuaded us to stand up for ourselves and not be embarrassed of who we are. We all have flaws and differences but that is what makes us unique. I liked this piece because the author really emphasized her anger about how African Americans cannot unite and stand against the racist people. This poem is great because it inspires you to go out and do great things and not be depressed over your flaws.

3. (Adams #4)- Yes Gwendolyn Brooks is very proud to be African American. She wrote this poem to tell everyone to stop being bashful because of their color. She persuades blacks to go out and stand up for themselves and to be the best that they can be.
Question-Do you think Gwendolyn Brooks thinks blacks are equal, or even better than whites in this poem? Why does she state other colors like Half Indian, what is she trying to prove here?