Martin Luther King

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• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 5

Martin Luther King

Discovering The Help

The Help

Introduction

The Help is a novel written by Kathryn Stockett. It is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi.

This slide will provide background information and set the tone for the lesson.

Tuesday the 1st of October

Literature

poetry

The help

Poetry - Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an African 

American writer whose poems, 

columns, novels and plays made 

him a leading figure in the 

Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

1865 - end of slavery

1967 - end of the final law "against" colouredAmericans

Poetry - Langston Hughes

“I, Too” is a poem by Langston Hughes. First published in 1926, during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the poem portrays American racism as experienced by a black man. In the poem, white people deny the speaker a literal and metaphorical seat at the table. However, the speaker asserts that he is just as much as part of America as are white people, and that soon the rest of the country will be forced to acknowledge the beauty and strength of black people.

 

Get the entire guide to “I, Too” as a printable PDF.

The Full Text of “I, Too”

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

Poetry - Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well,

And grow strong.

Tomorrow,

I’ll be at the table

When company comes.

Nobody’ll dare

Say to me,

“Eat in the kitchen,”

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how beautiful I am

And be ashamed—

I, too, am America.

Strange Fruit

You will hear popular blues and jazz singer Billie Holiday sing the song Strange Fruit. It was based on a poem written by Abel Meeropol in the 1920s about a lynching. 

As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, Billie's song became
THE protest song of the movement. 

As you listen, focus on what she is saying and note down which words
or parts of the song have an impact on you.

This anti-lynching poem was written by Abel Meeropol, a teacher, songwriter, and member of the American Communist Party. He published it in a union publication in 1937 and then set it to music. It was most famously performed by Billy Holiday, who first sang “Strange Fruit” in 1939. After the conviction and execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg for espionage in 1953, during the early Cold War, Abel Meeropol and his wife Anne adopted and raised the Rosenberg’s two sons, Michael and Robert

Southern trees bear a strange fruit

Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant South

The bulgin' eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolias sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burnin' flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck

For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for the tree to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop

The Help