Fighting that Good Fight
Written: February 1st, 2015
Poem: Dudly Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham" - accessible here.
The most tragic fact about slavery is this: the strongest obstacle to its end is the slave himself. In his poem, “Ballad of Birmingham”, Dudly Randall traces the events that unfold around an African American girl and her mother on the day of Freedom March in Birmingham, Alabama. From these events, Randall suggests that it is better to march for one’s freedom in the face of death, than sit in the House of God a slave. From irony, imagery, and a purposeful structure, Randall weaves this message.
The poem has an ironic tone, chiefly characterized by the stark contrast between intention and outcome. To begin, the child asks her mother if she may “march the streets of Birmingham” (Randall 3) to help end widespread racial segregation. Her mother refuses, arguing that “clubs and hoses, guns and jail [a]ren’t good” (7-8) for her little child. The girl “may go to church instead” (15). The mother was understandably comforted to know that her daughter “[w]as in a sacred place” (22), thinking the place of worship a much safer locale than the streets of Birmingham. But soon after her child arrives, the church is reduced to “bits of glass and brick” (29) by an explosion, and with it, her precious child. The mother had the intention of protecting her daughter by sending her to church. But in reality, she was sending her to the grave. This is a most revolting of ironic twists, but it serves a purpose. Through it, Randall is saying that in times of upheaval and restoration of freedom, even God’s House is not safe from the forces that seek to deny that freedom. Accordingly, one may either die sitting down, or die on one’s feet, fighting in that good fight. Discerning the better of these two paths is remarkably simple.
Part of what fighting in that good fight entails is living up to who one is. Randall uses imagery to represent denial of one's identity. For example, the fact that the girl's hair is described as "night-dark" (17) suggests a negative connotation to the blackness of her hair. For it is in the darkness of night that evil things wait. Of course, one could interpret this as saying more about Randall's views than the possessor of the night-dark hair, but in light of other examples of self-denial in the poem, the latter interpretation is more plausible. Moreover, the little girl puts "white gloves on her small brown hands" (19) as she readies herself for church, and "white shoes on her feet" (20). In both instances, the white garments symbolize purity and that which is good. Indeed, these are the garments adorned for church, the very epitome of purity. The significance of this observation lies in the fact that the white clothes are put over the girl's black skin. By dressing her daughter in white clothes, the mother herself plays right into the "truth" she's been taught her whole life: that white is better than black. Of course, the mother does not consciously believe these things, but by adorning her daughter in white, she does exactly what segregationists want her to do. The mother chose not to allow her daughter to fight for the right to live up wo who she is, and in the process, made her deny who she is. In short, when freedom is taken, there are really only two ways to respond. Fight for what is right, or give into that which is wrong. March the streets of Birmingham, or cover one's skin with lies.
But even when lies are chosen, truth has a way of burning through. Randall uses structure to reinforce the fact that the truth will be known, no matter the consequences. For example, the poem's definite rhythm and rhyme illustrates this. The last word of every other two lines rhymes, giving the poem an almost musical quality. Specifically, a quality of duple rhythm. This duple rhythm serves two purposes. First, it imitates the steps of those marching down Birmingham, suggesting the poem is itself a metaphorical march for freedom. Second, it might also be understood as imitating a heartbeat. The heartbeat of the marchers, the heartbeat of the young girl, the heartbeat of the mother as she searches for her child. The "heart beat effect" does two things. First, it underscores the deep emotion of the poem. Second, it allows the poem to support the message that it does. If the current work were an academic article, for example, the message would not reach its reader. But add a heartbeat to a poem, and suddenly that same message is all too real. Though that message is supported by rhythm, it is revealed through parallelism. For instance, the child's wish to "march the streets of Birmingham" (3) in the first stanza is paralleled by the mother's own "rac[ing] through" (27) those same streets in the second to last stanza. Moreover, the mother's caution that "dogs fierce and wild" (6) might harm her child is seen in her eyes "wet and wild" (26) with grief later on. Finally, the fear that "those guns will fire" (14) parallels "the explosion" (25) of the church. The occurrence of these parallels follows the pattern "A, B, C, C', B', A'", and is therefore very likely intentional. With that in mind, the fact that the streets of Birmingham during the Freedom March so closely follow the experience of the mother as she races towards church suggests a sad reality. The mother, so intent on keeping her precious child from the dangers of the streets of Alabama, was forced to walk those streets herself. She traversed them, faced wild realities, and experienced a fire to rival all the guns in the world. Randall paints these parallels to get the idea across that, even if one tries to avoid the truth about oneself and tries to avoid doing what must be done, the truth will make itself known. It will force itself upon the one who closes his eyes, even if the cost is the death of one's only child. The mother tried to deny the truth by keeping her daughter from marching the streets of Birmingham, and she paid the price. Better to do what must be done the first time around than lose that which one so dearly loves the second time.
Through structure, imagery, and ironic tone, Randall argues that it is better to fight for one's freedom in the face of death than to seek safety in abuse. Something alluded to throughout has been that denying a part of one's identity is tantamount to living as a slave. The truly free person always acts in accord with their nature. When people turn on themselves and purposefully deny the qualities that make them who they are, their very lives are reduced to "bits of glass and brick" (29). The most important thing in life is to live the way you were meant to. The real tragedy is not that bad things happen to good people, but that we restrain our talents, hopes, dreams, ambitions, and potential in the belief that we will somehow be better if we act like someone else. But the truth is, that “someone else” will never be as incredible as you. If all the world understood this, slavery and oppression would come to a sudden, damning, and final end.
Poem: Dudly Randall's "Ballad of Birmingham" - accessible here.
The most tragic fact about slavery is this: the strongest obstacle to its end is the slave himself. In his poem, “Ballad of Birmingham”, Dudly Randall traces the events that unfold around an African American girl and her mother on the day of Freedom March in Birmingham, Alabama. From these events, Randall suggests that it is better to march for one’s freedom in the face of death, than sit in the House of God a slave. From irony, imagery, and a purposeful structure, Randall weaves this message.
The poem has an ironic tone, chiefly characterized by the stark contrast between intention and outcome. To begin, the child asks her mother if she may “march the streets of Birmingham” (Randall 3) to help end widespread racial segregation. Her mother refuses, arguing that “clubs and hoses, guns and jail [a]ren’t good” (7-8) for her little child. The girl “may go to church instead” (15). The mother was understandably comforted to know that her daughter “[w]as in a sacred place” (22), thinking the place of worship a much safer locale than the streets of Birmingham. But soon after her child arrives, the church is reduced to “bits of glass and brick” (29) by an explosion, and with it, her precious child. The mother had the intention of protecting her daughter by sending her to church. But in reality, she was sending her to the grave. This is a most revolting of ironic twists, but it serves a purpose. Through it, Randall is saying that in times of upheaval and restoration of freedom, even God’s House is not safe from the forces that seek to deny that freedom. Accordingly, one may either die sitting down, or die on one’s feet, fighting in that good fight. Discerning the better of these two paths is remarkably simple.
Part of what fighting in that good fight entails is living up to who one is. Randall uses imagery to represent denial of one's identity. For example, the fact that the girl's hair is described as "night-dark" (17) suggests a negative connotation to the blackness of her hair. For it is in the darkness of night that evil things wait. Of course, one could interpret this as saying more about Randall's views than the possessor of the night-dark hair, but in light of other examples of self-denial in the poem, the latter interpretation is more plausible. Moreover, the little girl puts "white gloves on her small brown hands" (19) as she readies herself for church, and "white shoes on her feet" (20). In both instances, the white garments symbolize purity and that which is good. Indeed, these are the garments adorned for church, the very epitome of purity. The significance of this observation lies in the fact that the white clothes are put over the girl's black skin. By dressing her daughter in white clothes, the mother herself plays right into the "truth" she's been taught her whole life: that white is better than black. Of course, the mother does not consciously believe these things, but by adorning her daughter in white, she does exactly what segregationists want her to do. The mother chose not to allow her daughter to fight for the right to live up wo who she is, and in the process, made her deny who she is. In short, when freedom is taken, there are really only two ways to respond. Fight for what is right, or give into that which is wrong. March the streets of Birmingham, or cover one's skin with lies.
But even when lies are chosen, truth has a way of burning through. Randall uses structure to reinforce the fact that the truth will be known, no matter the consequences. For example, the poem's definite rhythm and rhyme illustrates this. The last word of every other two lines rhymes, giving the poem an almost musical quality. Specifically, a quality of duple rhythm. This duple rhythm serves two purposes. First, it imitates the steps of those marching down Birmingham, suggesting the poem is itself a metaphorical march for freedom. Second, it might also be understood as imitating a heartbeat. The heartbeat of the marchers, the heartbeat of the young girl, the heartbeat of the mother as she searches for her child. The "heart beat effect" does two things. First, it underscores the deep emotion of the poem. Second, it allows the poem to support the message that it does. If the current work were an academic article, for example, the message would not reach its reader. But add a heartbeat to a poem, and suddenly that same message is all too real. Though that message is supported by rhythm, it is revealed through parallelism. For instance, the child's wish to "march the streets of Birmingham" (3) in the first stanza is paralleled by the mother's own "rac[ing] through" (27) those same streets in the second to last stanza. Moreover, the mother's caution that "dogs fierce and wild" (6) might harm her child is seen in her eyes "wet and wild" (26) with grief later on. Finally, the fear that "those guns will fire" (14) parallels "the explosion" (25) of the church. The occurrence of these parallels follows the pattern "A, B, C, C', B', A'", and is therefore very likely intentional. With that in mind, the fact that the streets of Birmingham during the Freedom March so closely follow the experience of the mother as she races towards church suggests a sad reality. The mother, so intent on keeping her precious child from the dangers of the streets of Alabama, was forced to walk those streets herself. She traversed them, faced wild realities, and experienced a fire to rival all the guns in the world. Randall paints these parallels to get the idea across that, even if one tries to avoid the truth about oneself and tries to avoid doing what must be done, the truth will make itself known. It will force itself upon the one who closes his eyes, even if the cost is the death of one's only child. The mother tried to deny the truth by keeping her daughter from marching the streets of Birmingham, and she paid the price. Better to do what must be done the first time around than lose that which one so dearly loves the second time.
Through structure, imagery, and ironic tone, Randall argues that it is better to fight for one's freedom in the face of death than to seek safety in abuse. Something alluded to throughout has been that denying a part of one's identity is tantamount to living as a slave. The truly free person always acts in accord with their nature. When people turn on themselves and purposefully deny the qualities that make them who they are, their very lives are reduced to "bits of glass and brick" (29). The most important thing in life is to live the way you were meant to. The real tragedy is not that bad things happen to good people, but that we restrain our talents, hopes, dreams, ambitions, and potential in the belief that we will somehow be better if we act like someone else. But the truth is, that “someone else” will never be as incredible as you. If all the world understood this, slavery and oppression would come to a sudden, damning, and final end.
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