Gender Roles in African American Literature Authors Gwendolyn Brooks and David Henderson are known as influential African American poets. Each helped the black community with more than just their literary works. Brooks and Henderson were very active in their communities and many times their poems depicted events from their personal lives. Each talented writer uses male and female characters to portray their themes of life, racism, and community. However, Brooks focuses on the need for females to break down perimeters sounding themselves and explore their own communities, while Henderson focuses on the strong male role models that continue to rebuild the communities affected by the strain and damage of racism.
Gwendolyn Brooks was a talented American poet and was the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize Award (Poetry Foundation). Many of her early works focus on the theme of ordinary life but in her later work she focuses on politics and racism (Baym). Brooks …show more content…
Henderson is responsible for helping to develop the Umbra workshop. Those who participated in the New York based fellowship were dedicated to bringing awareness to social issues regarding racism (Gates, Jr. and Smith). Henderson depicts the events of the Harlem Rebellion, a riot fueled by racial tension, of 1964 in his poem, “Keep on Pushing (Gates, Jr. and Smith).” The poem is conveyed through the eyes of a male speaker. The speaker portrays an attitude of strength and determination to the audience early on in the poem. The speaker shares the image of the men of his community descending the streets and describes them in line 6 as, “vigiling Negro males (Gates, Jr. and Smith).” Henderson goes on to describe the men of the community. Each one is capable of contributing something to society and the local community. One example of Henderson’s depiction of a strong man and the hope of a better future can be seen in the lines