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Marcus B. Christian--A Literary Soldier
By Deborah P. Cains
He was a soldier who was strong enough,
bold enough, and tough enough to survive.
A soldier, a pioneer, a teacher, a writer,
who was strong enough, bold
enough, and tough enough to share and
express himself enough to be
appreciated by institutions and those who
knew him and his works.
A soldier who was strong enough, bold
enough, and tough enough to endure
during a time when all seemed to be
falling apart.
Marcus Bruce Christian was strong enough,
bold enough, and tough enough to share
his keen intellect and experiences in his
diverse writings and yet not give in
to disappointment nor not being
fully recognized because he was
merely . . . Marcus B. Christian of New
Orleans.
This soldier was strong, tough, and bold
enough to express himself
in inspiring literary works although
his regional preference to dwell
was seemingly the key that locked the door
of recognition t
hat many of his contemporaries experienced
because their regional preferences
to dwell were cities in the north. This
soldier was strong enough, tough
enough, and bold enough to share and to
give anyway because he was indeed
strong, tough, and bold enough to know
that what he expressed through the written word
was great! His literary works will always
have outstanding merit,
but unfortunately he had to pay the price
for being Black and even a greater price
for being a Southerner. But still
"they" all know of his strength, toughness, and boldness . . .
and one day in the twilight of life we
will open the great anthologies and see Marcus B. Christian,
and say yes, he was strong enough, tough
enough, and bold enough to endure even in his death--
a literary soldier. * *
* * * Deborah P. Cains is an Assistant Professor of English
and Administrative Assistant to the English Chair at Southern University at New
Orleans. Working on her doctorate, she is also an editor of the SUNO
Review.
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Blacks in Hispanic Literature: Critical Essays
Edited by
Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Blacks in Hispanic Literature is a
collection of fourteen essays by scholars and
creative writers from Africa and the Americas.
Called one of two significant critical works on
Afro-Hispanic literature to appear in the late
1970s, it includes the pioneering studies of
Carter G. Woodson and
Valaurez B. Spratlin, published in the 1930s, as
well as the essays of scholars whose interpretations
were shaped by the Black aesthetic. The early
essays, primarily of the Black-as-subject in Spanish
medieval and Golden Age literature, provide an
historical context for understanding 20th-century
creative works by African-descended, Hispanophone
writers, such as Cuban
Nicolás Guillén and Ecuadorean poet, novelist,
and scholar
Adalberto Ortiz, whose essay analyzes the
significance of Negritude in Latin America. This
collaborative text set the tone for later
conferences in which writers and scholars worked
together to promote, disseminate, and critique the
literature of Spanish-speaking people of African
descent. . . .
Cited by a
literary critic in 2004 as "the seminal study in the
field of Afro-Hispanic Literature . . . on which
most scholars in the field 'cut their teeth'."
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Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in
America
By Melissa V.
Harris-Perry
According to the
author, this society has historically exerted
considerable pressure on black females to fit into one
of a handful of stereotypes, primarily, the Mammy, the
Matriarch or the Jezebel. The selfless
Mammy’s behavior is marked by a slavish devotion to
white folks’ domestic concerns, often at the expense of
those of her own family’s needs. By contrast, the
relatively-hedonistic Jezebel is a sexually-insatiable
temptress. And the Matriarch is generally thought of as
an emasculating figure who denigrates black men, ala the
characters Sapphire and Aunt Esther on the television
shows Amos and Andy and Sanford and Son, respectively.
Professor Perry
points out how the propagation of these harmful myths
have served the mainstream culture well. For instance,
the Mammy suggests that it is almost second nature for
black females to feel a maternal instinct towards
Caucasian babies.
As for the source
of the Jezebel, black women had no control over their
own bodies during slavery given that they were being
auctioned off and bred to maximize profits. Nonetheless,
it was in the interest of plantation owners to propagate
the lie that sisters were sluts inclined to mate
indiscriminately.
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update 9 November 2011
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