English 2100 x 81: Fall 2020

Author: MAAHIKA GUPTA

The President Has Never Said the Word ‘Black’, Long Soldier

The poem “The President Has Never Said the Word ‘Black’” touches base on language used by President Obama during a speech about the death of a young black boy. He refers to this person as a “brother” yet never says the word black. It seems that although he himself is an African American man, saying this word bothers him and makes him uncomfortable. When the Long Soldier wrote, “everything is in the language we do NOT use”, it is what Obama did by not using the word black, and instead shying away from it. The language that is not used can imply a negative feeling towards it, such as embarrassment or hate. Parker even leaves blanks in between words where the word black should have gone if Obama had not been afraid to use the word. This signifies how certain words in our language have negative attributions leading to Obama avoiding the word black and molding his speech to fit in with certain standards in society. 

 

38

After reading the poem, I found it to be a very depressing story, and one that I had never heard of before in any history class. I believe this is due to America’s habit of leaving out the worst parts of our history, such as how they left the hanging of The Dakota men out of the Lincoln movie. I have read poems like this before, as I remember reading several poems about hanging during the times of slavery and the KKK, which is still around, in America. I recall reading a poem about a hanging in my 12th grade AP Literature class, as well as a few poems in my AP US History class. Both of these were as upsetting as 38, yet were told very differently. This poem is read differently, as it seems like I am having a conversation with the author, as they ask questions and reach out for the reader. One example of this is seen when they say, “So it’s possible that you’re asking, “Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hanged?” (Layli Long Soldier) When the author writes that “everything is in the language that we use”, she is talking about how the US government kept changing treaties with the Dakota people, making it harder for them to live. In my understanding, this statement means that the language used in the treaties and everything spoken between the US government and Dakota people was manipulated to trick the Dakota people. Language can be easily changed to go against people, and this is a clear example of that. The author provides proof of this by showing how the Dakota people never got money for the land, and were instead hanged and sent to prisons as a punishment for fighting for their rights and land back.

 

38

After reading the poem, I found it to be a very depressing story, and one that I had never heard of before in any history class. I believe this is due to America’s habit of leaving out the worst parts of our history, such as how they left the hanging of The Dakota men out of the Lincoln movie. I have read poems like this before, as I remember reading several poems about hanging during the times of slavery and the KKK, which is still around, in America. I recall reading a poem about a hanging in my 12th grade AP Literature class, as well as a few poems in my AP US History class. Both of these were as upsetting as 38, yet were told very differently. This poem is read differently, as it seems like I am having a conversation with the author, as they ask questions and reach out for the reader. One example of this is seen when they say, “So it’s possible that you’re asking, “Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hanged?” (Layli Long Soldier) When the author writes that “everything is in the language that we use”, she is talking about how the US government kept changing treaties with the Dakota people, making it harder for them to live. In my understanding, this statement means that the language used in the treaties and everything spoken between the US government and Dakota people was manipulated to trick the Dakota people. Language can be easily changed to go against people, and this is a clear example of that. The author provides proof of this by showing how the Dakota people never got money for the land, and were instead hanged and sent to prisons as a punishment for fighting for their rights and land back.