Breaking Language: The Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in LiteratureMain MenuIntroduction: How was the Civil Rights Movement fought in language?Pre-Civil Rights Era Uses of Language: Epistemic Violence and Legal RestrictionsJames Brown, "Too Funky in Here" (1979)Builder Levy, I AM a Man (1968)Builder Levy, I Am a Man/Union Justice Now, Memphis, TN, 1968. From the series Civil Rights and Peace. Gelatin Silver print
13 1/16 × 8 13/16. artsy.net.Builder Levy, Harlem Peace March 1967Builder Levy, Anti-War ProtestBuilder Levy, Harlem Peace March to End Racial Oppression, April 27, 1967. The statement "No black man ever called me chink: support the black struggle for existence" was taken from boxer/activist Muhammad Ali's original statement about his refusal to participate in the Vietnam War, "Ain't no Vietcong ever called me nigger." Amitage Digital Resources, Columbia University.Dykes on Bikes: Headlining SF Pride Parade since 1977Malcolm X's Repudiation of a Slave NameMalcolm X: Language Play and Caustic IronyAudre Lorde: "You cannot dismantle the master's house with the master's tools" (1984)Adrienne Rich "Diving into the Wreck" (1973)James Baldwin: Deconstructing the Language of RacismConclusion: Language as a Medium for Activism and LiberationCreative Commons LicenseResourcestest of radial viewvisualization of contentCathy Kroll0c0427ebd621fb54b22b23c07748d7202fcfe9c8
12016-11-06T15:48:28-08:00Adrienne Rich "Diving into the Wreck" (1973)12plain2017-04-18T09:18:29-07:00Use language to dive deeply and to express your own worldview that has been unacknowledged: Even though we all have been shaped by a language which has oppressed the less powerful, we can dive into "the wreck" and explore "the thing itself and not the myth" about our realities.
