ENGL 281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 33: Gwendolyn B. Bennett, Tenderly
Gwendolyn Bennett (1902-1981): Heritage, To a
Dark Girl
http://www.afropoets.net/gwendolynbennett.html
challenges the western aesthetic of beauty meaning whiteness
through demonstrating a beauty that is inherently of black
women
• for black women, the 1920s was the first time that
people challenged the notion that black women were
Not beautiful
Women had been told constantly that black women were
ugly, demented, and inferior in aesthetic, but also in mental capability
This is the direct countering of a belief that needs to be claimed
I love you for your brownness,
And the rounded darkness of your breast,
I love you for the breaking sadness in your
voice
And shadows where your wayward eyelids
rest.
Something of old forgotten queens
Lurks in the lithe abandon of your walk
And something of the shackled slave
Sobs in the rhythm of your talk.
Oh, little brown girl, born for sorrow's mate,
Keep all you have of queenliness,
Forgetting that you once were slave,
And let your full lips laugh at Fate!
Her brownness is the indicator of all the hardships black women have undergone for over 300 years
• Tells the black community to not let racism overpower the view that they had of themselves
o There is greatness in them and always had been there, just have to realize it
• Pushing away these derragatory image associates with blacks
o She is saying that you are beautiful and that one day
During this time, lynching is rampant and blacks are having a very difficult time trying to
solidfy an identity, but in this moment black people start to look to their past for a form
of usable material to form an identity
• Looking back at a past that was colored by
1. slavery: slavery lasted over 300 years. It is THE worst holocaust ever engaged in
You have these stereotypical ideals of African barbarism to enslave them
Most of what blacks knew was known from the eyes of what whites wanted others to
see.
Ignores the greatness that always lay in Africa; astronomers, mathematicians, libraries. All these
things ignored to shape the ideals one had not only of Africa, but of blacks.
• One of the most problematic things ever is blacks recognizing the idea of being of African
descent; of accepting their culture and origin
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Dark girl http://www. afropoets. net/gwendolynbennett. html challenges the western aesthetic of beauty meaning whiteness through demonstrating a beauty that is inherently of black women for black women, the 1920s was the first time that people challenged the notion that black women were. Women had been told constantly that black women were ugly, demented, and inferior in aesthetic, but also in mental capability. This is the direct countering of a belief that needs to be claimed. I love you for the breaking sadness in your voice. Lurks in the lithe abandon of your walk. Oh, little brown girl, born for sorrow"s mate, And let your full lips laugh at fate! It is the worst holocaust ever engaged in see. You have these stereotypical ideals of african barbarism to enslave them. Most of what blacks knew was known from the eyes of what whites wanted others to. Ignores the greatness that always lay in africa; astronomers, mathematicians, libraries.
