In The President Has Never Said the Word ‘Black’, the author uses rhetorical diction, or lack there of, to illustrate the lack of attention towards a troubling issue in the US. Rather than going into detail in the poem about who the president is and his specific wrongdoing, she leaves it out and allows the reader to imagine these things, thus allowing the reader to have their own unique interpretation fo the poem. By doing so, the author is mocking the president and portraying her anger toward the president, even more than if she went into detail explaining. The reader truly feels the lack of language as it sweeps them off their feet and address’s the problem at hand, rather than the person not persisting to fix it. She also uses the lack of the word black to emphasize how it feels to be treated like she does not matter. The blank adds emphasize to the statement and makes the reader contemplate about why the president does not use the word. This brilliant tactic is a rhetorical device that allows the reading to feel unique and individualized as it renders the reader thinking without even using as much text. Its interesting when the reading said “The president be like we lost a young boy today”. While writing in her unique style the lack of the word black holds a strong place, even though it is not even written. This incredible writing style address’s the problem while indicating how reader’s feel the impact of a lack of something even more than if it was present.
