Sympathy

“We Wear the Mask” by Dunbar (1896)

“We Wear the Mask” offers a different representation of The Psychological Reality of Racism. While the bird in “Sympathy” makes its pain obvious with song, the strategy for dealing with the pain of racism in “We Wear the Mask” includes evasion and bravado. “We Wear the Mask” displays the growing sense at the end of the 19th century that appeals to goodwill and common humanity were unlikely to end racism.

“I, Too” by Langston Hughes (1926)

Written during the Harlem Renaissance (the flowering of Black poetry and art during the early 20th century), “I, Too” relies on song to represent Black aspirations. In this poem, the speaker is confined to the kitchen but manages to use the kitchen as a retreat where they grow resilient in preparation for their freedom.

“Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou (1983)

Angelou’s poem relies on the contrast between a free bird and a caged bird, but she devotes more time to the free bird and the conditions of life outside the cage. This representation shows that Black people did not just aspire to freedom; they had, in some ways, achieved it and were hungry for more.