While reading about the various accounts of leaving the South, in what was known at the time as the Great Migration, it was interesting to see that Isabel Wilkerson went beyond the typical narrative. In Robert Joseph Pershing Foster's narrative, he demonstrates this “escaping” of a life that has been constantly challenging in the South. Robert is described as an intelligent man that wants to practices medicine, yet the reality that surrounds him does not allow him to be able to so. Similar to the other accounts in the book, Robert is trying to escape the effects of the Jim Crown laws. It is intriguing to see that Wilkerson draws a lot from the narratives of others, by showing the reasoning of why others migrated to places like California such as Mantan Moreland, who made a name for himself, but witnessed a man who was hanging from a tree, and decided to fled (Wilkerson 186). Each individual that is mentioned in this narrative, has made a good life for themselves, which is only a testament of how the Great Migration was necessary. Robert's narrative seems to resonate with “Dream Variation” by Langston Hughes, due to the fact that freedom seems to be overall theme. In “Dream Variation” by Langston Hughes, he states in the first four lines,
“To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the bright day is done..." (p. 143).
Hughes is speaking of a time, where the black individual is free to do whatever he or she pleases. In Robert's narrative, he could not simply “fling” his arms open and dance in a place of the sun in the South, which is true for any black man or woman in the South. This idea can be seen in the fact that Robert was not free to practice medicine, though he was considered “smarter” than a lot of white doctors. Wilkerson asserts that “...he imagined there was a whole world just waiting for him to get there, people living the high life in Los Angeles and building businesses in Oakland,” (Wilkerson 188). This conceptualization of “people” is important due to the fact that it refers to black people like himself. It is no surprise that blacks in the South, did not live luxurious lives, but the manner that this movement to the North, is constantly perpetuated as a place of promise. Wilkerson alludes to the notion that there were more than 462,000 “colored” people already in California, who migrated before Robert, in which he never knew (Wilkerson 187). For the black individual to “fling” their arms open, they would have to feel a type of safety, which can only be achieved by being free of the white man at least in a minimal way. Hughes discusses having the ability to rest beneath a tree on a cool evening (Locke 143). He continues by asserting the line, “Dark like me,” this does not simply allude to the night, but also refers to the black community surrounding him. This connects with conceptualization of “dream” in line 7, where the dream of many black individuals coming from the South, were there was no opportunities, is this hope that the North had more opportunities and people that looked like them. True freedom can be seen in this last line “Black like me,” this is why Robert changed his name. Since the black community has shed themselves from the constraints of the South.
“Dream Variations” is a beautiful poem that emphasizes, as you noted, the freedom that Hughes and others wished they possessed. The Great Migration seemed to come about from many young Blacks, like Robert, wanting to find ways to reach their potential in spaces that did not hold them contained in the narrow confines of Jim Crow laws. This poem, by including such effervescent lines as “Dance!” and “Whirl!” captures this hope quite well and speaks to the kind of desire for self-determination that so many Blacks in the south pursued.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you noted the “Black like me” lines, which so simply evoke the solace Hughes and many others found in these communities of transplants across the country. I think you are right to assert that the “dream” is at least in part speaking of the faith in finding a space where Blacks can have opportunities beyond the limitations of the south, where they can as a community reach for their own dreams. The “Dream” is that the north and west are everything countless Blacks hoped they were and that they were really able to offer freedom. Hughes is right to call it a dream, since so many of the people described in Wilkerson’s text left on little more than that, from what little they heard from family members and friends.
I also like your description of the use of the word “fling” denoting a feeling of safety, which could only be felt when free of the reach of White supremacy. While White supremacy was ultimately unavoidable no matter what corner of the country Black people made their homes, the optimism that accompanied the travels of people like Robert was undeniable and inspiring, and Hughes was able to capture this well in his poem “Dream Variations.” Again, I really appreciated your treatment if the word “fling;” it offered a thoughtful depth to the passage.
I think that you found great connections between the Wilkerson's and Locke's texts. I enjoyed reading about the connections between Robert changing his last name in order to kind of in his own way embody some type of freedom and get rid of any correlation to the South. I think that its interesting to come across how African Americans got a grasp of freedom even when they felt trapped. I think that the North for blacks acting as a Dream also acted as a ray of hope that there must be something better out there, that there must be better job opportunities, better living conditions than there are here in the South. Based on that hope, that dream, blacks fled.
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