Freedom Summer

While this poem focuses much of its attention on the actual events on the day of the murder, the narrative is bookended by the image of the penny Hope. The purpose of this is to direct the reader’s attention to the poem’s true purpose, which is not to relive the murders but to demonstrate the purpose of these men’s lives and their sacrifice. That purpose, ultimately, is hope. Hope is an essential part of any social movement because, without it, there is no point in action. Hope is a driving force that gives people courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

At the end of the poem, Lewis drives this point home by giving Chaney life after death. Not only is the poem written from Chaney’s perspective after Chaney’s death, but within the poem, Chaney narrates even after he has died. He says that as they were burying him, he held onto that hope that he opened the poem with.

This is more of a message for the reader than anything else. The idea here is to recognize those who are lost in the pursuit of hope but to not give up on the hope for which those lost souls fought.