Not an Elegy for Mike Brown

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2014

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Poem Analysis

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

"alternate names for black boys" by Danez Smith (2014)

“alternate names for black boys” was originally published in Poetry Magazine in March 2014. The poem also appears in Smith’s first full-length collection of poetry, [insert] Boy (2014). “alternate names for black boys” catalogs the stereotypical images associated with young, Black males, formatted into a list of 17 items. Smith uses a combination of concrete and abstract imagery to convey how the dehumanization of Black youth leads to violence against them. The main thematic concern of “alternate names for black boys” is the loss of Black innocence, paralleling the ideas found within “not an elegy for Mike Brown.” The language of boyhood is also extremely important to both of these poems, as they each interrogate societal structures such as the police force that cause Black youth to be seen as a threat, lamenting the fact that Black boys are killed before they even have the chance to become men.

"dear white america" by Danez Smith (2017)

“dear white america” appears in Smith’s second full-length collection of poems, Don’t Call Us Dead (2017), along with “not an elegy for Mike Brown.” The poem “dear white america” serves as an open letter to white Americans, informing them of Smith’s departure from Earth in search of a better planet. “dear white america” is rife with mythological and religious allusions. Smith compares prominent historical events and biblical stories to whiteness with the same adeptness used in “not an elegy for Mike Brown,” portraying the racially motivated injustices that they (and the Black community at large) have suffered on Earth. Smith explicitly names real-life victims of racist violence throughout the poem, in the same way that they use Mike Brown’s name in the title of “not an elegy.” Smith is critical of the fact that God has not treated Black people the same as white people and that neither has history, making “dear white america” an essential pairing to “not an elegy for Mike Brown.”

"& even the black guy’s profile reads ‘sorry, no black guys’" by Danez Smith (2017)

Smith’s poem “& even the black guy’s profile reads ‘sorry, no black guys’” details Smith’s experiences at the intersection of Blackness and Queerness. This poem, also from the collection, Don’t Call Us Dead (2017), takes the language of the external hate Smith explores in regards to race and turns it inward. Smith reveals self-hatred as a product of the institutional racism and homophobia that is extremely pervasive in modern society, complicating the claims they make in “not an elegy for Mike Brown” and offering readers another lens through which to view marginalized experiences.

Smith purposely avoids capitalization within the titles and bodies of all three of the aforementioned poems, an artistic choice that appears in “not an elegy for Mike Brown” and is characteristic of Smith’s poetic form.

Further Literary Resources

"We Must Be the New Guards: Open Letter to White Poets" by Danez Smith (2014)

On November 25, 2014, the day after Darren Wilson was acquitted in the murder of Michael Brown, Danez Smith penned an open letter to white poets entitled, “We Must Be the New Guards: Open Letter to White Poets” (2014). Smith’s tone is that of great exhaustion as they detail their distress directly to white audiences regarding the normalization of the murder of Black people.

Smith argues that the unjustified fear of an individual based solely on their skin color is so ingrained in society that it is used to justify violence as self-defense. Smith is less concerned with the verdict of the Brown case and more concerned with the pattern it reveals: Liberty and justice will never be for all in the United States unless white allyship becomes a priority. Smith implores white writers to help shoulder the weight, calling for solidarity to end racism by using writing as a form of activism. Smith believes that protecting the futures of those whom society has deemed unimportant, and therefore expendable, is central to the fight to end racist violence. This open letter exemplifies the emotions Smith was grappling with in the exact moments they wrote “not an elegy for Mike Brown,” adding much needed emotional perspective to the events that took place in Ferguson the summer of 2014.

The Essence of Innocence: Consequences of Dehumanizing Black Children by Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff et al (2014)

The American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology published Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff et al’s critical research discussing the consequences of dehumanizing Black youth. Their research examines whether Black boys specifically are given the same protections as their white peers. The three hypotheses tested sought to uncover if (a) Black boys are viewed as “less childlike” than their white counterparts, (b) if the characteristics associated with childhood innocence are applied less frequently to Black boys than white, and (c) if these patterns would hold up when comparing Black boys to animals such as apes. The study utilized a combination of laboratory, field, and translational methods to conclude that the stereotype of Black boys as “less childlike” not only holds up, but also puts Black youth at a higher risk of violent victimization, specifically by police brutality. This study provides scientific evidence for the claims Smith makes within “not an elegy for Mike Brown,” and it reveals the genesis of many racist stereotypes.

"What Happened in Ferguson?" by Larry Buchanan et al (2015)

The New York Times originally published this article in 2014, capturing the events and aftermath of Michael Brown’s murder in real time. “What Happened in Ferguson?” was updated a year later in 2015, compiling a complete timeline of not only the details of Brown’s murder, but also the following protests and trial by Grand Jury. By naming Mike Brown in the title of their poem, Smith makes reference to all that occurred in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014, making this article an essential pairing to the poem, “not an elegy for Mike Brown.”