avatarSherry McGuinn

Summary

The web content is a poignant poem and accompanying commentary by Sherry McGuinn, reflecting on the historical and ongoing struggle for racial equality, inspired by a Poetry Salvage prompt by Marla Bishop.

Abstract

The poem "Redux" delves into the harrowing history of racial injustice in America, echoing the sentiments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. It laments the slow progress towards freedom and equality for African Americans, who have endured centuries of brutality and oppression. The narrative touches on the deaths of African Americans like George Floyd, emphasizing the need for white people to acknowledge their privilege and join in solidarity with the black community to overcome systemic racism. McGuinn calls for peaceful activism, suggesting that collective action and treating black people as equals could lead to societal healing and forgiveness. The poem is a response to a prompt using specific words and is part of McGuinn's broader body of work, which includes screenwriting and contributions to various publications.

Opinions

  • The author believes that the struggle for racial equality has been prolonged and fraught with violence, despite the efforts of previous generations.
  • The poem suggests that the silence of those with privilege has perpetuated the cycle of violence and racism.
  • It criticizes the mindset of some white individuals who use their power to oppress others out of fear and ignorance.
  • The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing that "white is not right" and the need for white people to abandon their sense of superiority.
  • McGuinn advocates for the treatment of black people as brothers and sisters, indicating that this is a path toward potential forgiveness and reconciliation.
  • The poem implies that societal change can be achieved through raising voices peacefully, signing petitions, and engaging in other forms of activism.

Redux

Source: Karyann Grabovski/Pixabay

In the fields, long ago, in the blistering summer heat, he dreamed of freedom and a time…when he would not get beat.

Beaten down by the “Massah” whose skin was the color of milk, milk gone bad over a heart gone cold like so many of their ilk.

His daddy and his daddy before him wore the vicious scars of protest, so that their son and grandson could break free from the viper’s nest.

But it took too long and he worked too hard though the beatings never stopped, and he died there in the fields, amongst the cotton tops.

“We shall overcome,” said Dr. King before he too, was beaten down, and our silence since has fanned the flames that burn from town to town.

“Brutality ain’t no thang,” says the white man who wields his power, because he’s small and he’s weak and he lives to make you cower.

He lives to hurt and maim, that which he does not understand, how can he when he’s never been taught that he’s nothing but a man?

Where do we go from here after we’ve fucked up time and again? Ask George Floyd, who’s gone home to be with his Mama…again.

“There must be something we can do,” we cry, something to make things right, oh yes, there’s something we can do and that’s to forget we’re white.

Because “white is not right” and if we don’t get that and get it, very soon, prepare yourselves my friends for hell and despair and doom.

The honorable thing is to raise our voices peacefully, yet with passion, add a signature to a petition, as is the current fashion.

Above all, we need to treat black people like the brothers and sisters they are, and maybe…we’ll be forgiven.

Thank you for reading my response to a Poetry Salvage prompt by Marla Bishop, using the following words. I hope you enjoyed it.

  • brutality
  • freedom
  • silence
  • overcome
  • home
  • together
  • protest
  • signature
  • petition
  • honorable

Sherry McGuinn is a slightly-twisted, longtime Chicago-area writer and award-winning screenwriter. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and numerous other publications. Sherry’s manager is currently pitching her newest screenplay, a drama with dark, comedic overtones and inspired by a true story.

Slavery
Poetry
Racism
Prompt
Forgiveness
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