Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” In Anis Mojgani’s poem, “Shake the Dust”, he emphasizes the importance of standing up for those who are being socially marginalized. Our society has created a systematic approach towards the way we look at those who have gone through tough times as well as communities who have been marginalized for the color of their skin, faith, and gender identity. “Shake the Dust” connects with and addresses those who are excluded in our culture and encourages them that everyone has a purpose in life and this goal is to speak up for what you believe in.
Anis Mojgani expressed, “I want my words and actions to be the quantification …show more content…
Throughout his poem, Mojgani addresses everyone in an extremely unique way and demonstrates the message that no one in our society should be left behind or overlooked. For example, he starts out his poem saying, “This is for the fat girls” (1). Too often in our world, we see those who are destined for success but instead are blocked by the barriers of social exclusion. Author Jaeda Dewalt wrote, “Whomever you truly are... honor that person. No dream was ever realized by disappearing into the shadows of self-deceit and doubt.” By allowing the systematic thinking of marginalization to exist in our daily lives, we are continuing to prevent those with dreams and wishes to have the confidence for a successful future. In a place where we are called to be united with one another and to provide each other with an equal opportunity for prosperity, we are failing. Anis Mojgani acknowledges this negligence of social equality when he writes, “For the ones who are forgotten, the ones the amendments do not stand for” (1). The words racism and sexism are deeply rooted in the foundation of social marginalization and inequality. For example, according to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, African American males are about six times more likely to be in prison than white American males. These African American men are just one small fraction of the people that Mojgani refers to when talking about those who aren’t protected by the amendments but instead persecuted by those who believe they are superior. Therefore it an important necessity for us to create changes in our very own communities which in turn will lead us towards building a foundation of happiness for