Ballad of Birmingham essay

Ballad of Birmingham
Describe an important idea in the text. Explain whether or not you think this idea is relevant to teenagers today

In the poem Ballad of Birmingham written by Dudley Randal an important idea in the text is the little girl wanting to fight for black people’s lives freedom and rights. This idea is relevent to teenages today because in 2020 thousands of the younger generation were protesting for black rights. There is a sad irony between these two events because people are still protesting about the same problem 57 years later and are still being opposed by police and white suppremmacists.

The poem started with a young African-American girl asking her mum if she could go and protest in the streets. ‘In a freedom march today’, the march was for black rights and freedom which was important as in that period of time African-American people were seen not as equals but below people with white skin. Black people were treated differently and did not have the same rights as white people. During the 50s and 60s there were many movements towards the hope of black equality such as Brown vs the school board, bombings in Birmingham, the brutal murder of Emmet Till, the Montgomery boycott, and in 1963 the march on washington where around 250,000 people protested in the streets of Washington. The girl in the poem wanted to ‘make our country free’ by marching but was unable to as it was considered dangerous so she was sent to church instead.

This year in 2020 thousands of the younger generation marched in the streets of America to protest against police brutality and racially motivated violence against African-American people. They are the same protest that were going on back in the 50s and 60s. Teenagers made up a lot of the protesters and were also highly involved through social media. Some of the actions taken in the protest were destroying statues of people who were racist or slave owners. African-American teenages today are still being killed because they are black just like the brutal Emmit Till murder.

There is a sad irony between the events during the 50s and 60s and the protests in 2020. The fact that the same problems are still having to be protested about 57 years later is disappointing. Society has come a long way since then but innocent people of colour are still being killed just because of their race. Going and protesting even in the 21st century is still dangerous and getting people killed. There are still racial stereotypes today that refers back to when African Americans were slaves. In the poem the little girl was not allowed to go and protest as the mother feared she would get hurt, you could tell when the mother uses this metaphor ‘for the dogs are fierce and wild’ the dogs being police and white suprmacist groups, to emphasise danger. There were also other dangers such as clubs, hoses and guns. In the 2020 black lives matter protest police and some white supremicists meet protestors with rubber bullets, tear gas, and even the army was called to step in. In both generations innocent people were killed fighting for their rights and the rights of others.

In the poem Ballad of Birmingham by Dudley Randal an important idea in the text is the fight for black freedom and equality. Teenagers can relate to this idea because in this generation people are still fighting and protesting about the same inequalities over half a century later. Whether it was the March on Washington or the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, innocent people are dying fighting for what they believe in and what is right.

Lilly Hampson