Faulkner’s “Intruder in the Dust” shows how deep into the American psyche racism reaches, helping explain the spate of police killings or unarmed Blacks.
Tag Archives: George Floyd
Faulkner on Racism’s Deep Roots
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Intruder in the Dust, police shootings, racism, Sandra Bland, William Faulkner Comments closed
From God’s Breath to “I Can’t Breathe”
Wednesday This past Juneteenth I was flipping through channels and caught MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell quoting James Weldon Johnson’s “Creation.” It was a moving application of poetry to this important moment in time. Mitchell was referring to George Floyd’s plaintive cry “I can’t breathe” before he was suffocated by Minneapolis police. Johnson’s poem, she said, reminds […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Creation", Black Lives Matter, James Weldon Johnson, police brutality Comments closed
Cops’ Invisible Disciplinary Records
There’s a thrill in acting with impunity. Bad cops know this and so does H.G. Wells’s invisible man.
What Would Lucille Clifton Say?
How would Lucille Clifton have responded to the death of George Floyd and the subsequent turmoil? I comb through her collected poems to find out.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "won't you celebrate with me", "after kent state", "jasper texas 1998", "new bones", Donald Trump, James Byrd, Lucille Clifton, Minneapolis riots Comments closed
Achebe vs. Trump’s Heart of Darkness
50 years ago, black protesters would have been seen as Conrad sees Africans in “Heart of Darkness,” an undifferentiated mass. Achebe helped change that.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Chinua Achebe, Colonialism, Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, Minneapolis riots, racism, riots, Things Fall Apart Comments closed
When Grief Turns Violent
In protesting police violence against communities of color, protesters must avoid grief-fueled violence, the archetype of which is Grendel’s Mother.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Beowulf, Beowulf poet, Marat/Sade, Minneapolis riots, Peter Weiss, police racism Comments closed
In Aeneid, It’s the Wives Who Riot
The riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death recall for me the wives rioting in the Aeneid–another neglected and long-suffering group who are fed up.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Aeneid, Minneapolis riots, police brutality, racism, Virgil Comments closed
