Black History Month Poem: Segregation Fatigue
Thank You to Black Soldiers
About how Black soldiers couldn't pretend to...
Not notice how they were treated during the war
Of which Blacks came out in scores
Hughes called it segregation-fatigue
Black soldiers almost dropped to their knees
Tired of being treated like second best
Even when they wore the US uniforms on their chests
Fifty young soldiers from November 19, 1944
Charged with a munity case, they refused ammunition nor...
Would they kill Black Navy sailor-stevedores
Americans know what they really went to jail for
Black soldiers hated to go down south
They had to unreasonably watch their mouths
With empty seats around, they couldn't sit
Because Jim Crow laws were still legit
My grandfather, who fought in the war
Avoided telling me tales of Jim Crow cars
At 86, he's still alive and can remember
But the bad times he doesn't let hinder...
I wonder how many other Black soldiers today
Are amazed by the government change
While they fought and died for equality
The 44th president is what some are alive to see
And although Jim Crow was given the boot
My alma mater, Lincoln U, displays Black troops
To say "thank you" to those who've passed on
Through their journeys, democracy won
Published by Shamontiel
Shamontiel is the author of Round Trip and Change for a Twenty, and in mid-October became the Chicago Tribune s Digital News Editor. She works on National Travel, Health and occasionally Breaking News, and w... View profile
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6 Comments
Post a CommentRev. Wright was one of thos black soldiers that was not allowed to stay in motels, drink out of a water fountain, swim in a lake or pool, etc, etc and as things change they remain the same.
Excellent job here! I agree with Herstory - definitely feature-worthy! :-)
Hello, I am always happy at your writings. Thank a lot.
Herstory, thank you. Christoper, I think the younger generation is going to kill each other before they can even complain about segregation. I'm dead tired of seeing CPS students in the news. This next generation has gone completely out of their minds.
Most worthy of "AC Feature" indeed :-)
Interesting how times change, and then they don't. Our parents left the South for the North. We leave the North for the South. I'm in the South now; they give me a job, a nice place to stay far more than what I need or could afford in the North, a free education what more can I ask for. But it just isn't the same, no matter how much I like it no matter how I try to make it work it isn't the same. It's warmer literally but it felt warmer up North, it's hard to explain. It isn't personal; it's me, not you. They talk about segregation fatigue; yeah it's fatigue and we're still experiencing that fatigue today. I can only hope that the younger Generation Y and Z does not have to deal with that fatigue, that it can become a thing of the past. One can only hope ...