Festus Claudius Mckay: Claude Mckay

Festus Claudius “Claude” McKay was a Jamaican-American writer and poet, who was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. During the Harlem Renaissance, he produced a wide range of poetry that focused on challenging white authority in America. Based off his writings, McKay constantly expressed his disgust for racism and the foolishness it exhibited. McKay’s reputation was based off his intense commitment to expressing the predicament of his race. Today, he is both remembered and admired for devoting his life to social protest.
Festus Claudius McKay, who is better known as Claude McKay, was born in Sunny Ville, Jamaica, on September 15, 1890. Born to peasant farmers, Claude McKay was the youngest son of Thomas Francis McKay and Hannah Ann Elizabeth

The Red Summer refers to the summer and fall of 1919, in which race riots exploded in a number of cities in both the North and South (Wormser 1). All of this first began in Chicago on July 27, 1919, when a fight broke out between blacks and whites. As a result, one black youth drowned while another was unfairly arrested, which caused the racial tensions to rapidly rise. Then as time went by several fights occurred between the gangs and mobs of both races and this resulted in four dozen deaths and over five hundred casualties. The fights created a chain reaction that went across the United States and caused a racial frenzy that resulted in countless clashes, massacres, and lynching. In other words, the period of time in which this poem was created was one of violence and bloodshed. However, this was not a poem made to express hatred, but rather to spread hope to those of the minority who needed it most. “If We Must Die” gave people the courage they need to fight for their freedom and move past their hatred and

When readers read this poem, they are able to imagine a group of exhausted soldiers sitting on the ground, who have their arms resting on their knees and their heads hanging low. There is a moment of silence, when from out of the group of soldiers comes a man exhausted from battle. The soldier can tell that the others have lost the will to go on fighting. However, the soldier speaks out about their desperate situation, but refuses to admit defeat and encourages them to continue fighting. The speaker of “If We Must Die” is that of a leader who encourages pride and bravery. In the end, they all are on their feet and ready to face their enemy, even with the threat of certain death hanging above