BA # 6

I read the poem "A Different Image" by Dudely Randall (page 499 of IP). It pertains to re-shaping the image of the black community during the Civil Rights Era, as it was written in 1968. The first stanza talks about shedding the past image that the black community had; "This age/requires this task;/create/a different image;/re-animate/the mask." (lines 1-6). I believe the last two lines in particular advocate acticvism in creating a new image and identity, for 'animate' is an active rather than a passive word. The second stanza talks about letting go of the standards, practices and sterotypes born during slavery, and replacing it with black pride and nationalism; "Replace/the leer-/of the minstrel's burnt-cork face/with a proud, serene/and classic bronze of Benin" (lines 8-12). Here, Randall is stating that the beliefe that blacks are subnordinate must be shed by its own people first and foremost, and replaced with a proud image of Benin, a southern Nigerian people known for their craftsmanship with bronze and ivory. This last line of the poem suggests a rediscovering of African roots, as Harlem Renaissance pioneer Marcus Garvy introduced to black Americans in the 1920's. In short, the basic message of the poem is that black people must let go of the negitive social sterotypes and images they are labeled as and gain a sense of pride, worth, value and community by rediscovering their African roots.