18 pages • 36 minutes read
Danez Smithalternate names for black boys
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2014A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: The Michael Brown Shooting
On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was walking home with his friend Dorian Johnson in Ferguson, Missouri, when Officer Darren Wilson stopped them in his patrol car. A brief struggle ensued; Wilson fired a total of 12 shots. Six shots hit the unarmed Brown, who died on the street. Though Wilson later alleged that Brown lunged at him, Johnson claimed Brown had his hands up in surrender. Witness accounts vary. After a grand jury’s decision not to indict Wilson was announced on November 24, 2014, unrest and protest erupted in Ferguson. Protesters chanted “hands up, don’t shoot,” echoing Johnson’s account of the shooting. The slogan has since been widely used in anti-police-violence activism. Organizer Montague Simmons says the slogan persists because it speaks to a pattern of unjustified violence: “Just because I’m black and male, and you may have thoughts that I am criminal or I am a threat, doesn’t make it so” (Corley, Cheryl. “Whether History Or Hype, ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Endures.” NPR Weekend Edition Saturday. August 8, 2015).
The shooting, grand jury decision, and police response to protests in Ferguson garnered nationwide attention for the Black Lives Matter movement. The organization that started as a hashtag in 2013 has now become Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. Their stated goal is “to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities” (“About.” Black Lives Matter). On the day following the grand jury decision, Smith posted an open letter to white poets, asking them for solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Also on the day after the jury’s decision was announced, BuzzFeed News republished two Smith poems, “Not an Elegy For Mike Brown” and “alternate names for black boys,” launching these poems into broader public consciousness.
Literary Context: Spoken Word Poetry
Spoken word poetry, also called slam poetry, is a theatrical mode of poetry performance. Many credit Mark Kelly Smith as the founder of the movement in the United States. In the 1980s, Smith feared that the “structured and stuffy” world of academia limited poetry as an artform (“What Is a Slam Poem?” Power Poetry). Open mic nights in public spaces like cafés meant that any interested individual could participate, no matter their background. Active audience participation in the form of cheering, booing, and formalized scoring meant that a successful slam poet had to be able to win over the crowd. Slam poetry thus became a distinct genre characterized by bold performances, provocative and political content, and inventive approaches to form.
Smith wrote their first poem for a high school acting class. They credit slam poetry contests for providing the space to hone their skills as a performer: “slam doesn’t allow you to be stagnant” (Kellaway, Kate. “‘Every poem is political’: Danez Smith, the YouTube star shaking up poetry.” The Guardian, 2018). Videos of their spoken word performances have been widely viewed. Button Poetry, a popular slam YouTube channel with over one million subscribers, has posted at least a dozen videos of Smith performing. The video of Smith’s 2014 spoken-word poem “Dear White America” has logged hundreds of thousands of views.
Authorial Context: Danez Smith
Smith’s poetry is heavily informed by their Black, queer, and non-binary identities, as well as their experience with being HIV-positive. In a 2018 interview, Smith said, “[P]oems have helped me figure out a lot about queer sexuality” (Kellaway). Re-imaging themselves on the page is part of Smith’s process of re-imagining themselves in the real world.
Smith’s poetry also reflects the challenges that can arise with intersecting identities. For example, Smith speaks fondly of their family, calling their mother their best friend (Kellaway). At the same time, their 2021 poem “waiting on you to die so i can be myself” concerns gender identity and explores the pain of having to hide a piece of themselves to maintain positive relationships with loved ones. The opening couplet speaks directly to Smith’s place in the family: “a thousand years of daughters, then me. / what else could I have learned to be?” (Smith, Danez. “Poem: waiting on you to die so i can be myself.” The New York Times. September 16, 2021).
Related Titles
By Danez Smith
