18 pages • 36-minute read
Ballad of Birmingham
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
Content Warning: Images in “The Children’s Crusade: Birmingham—1963” depict violence against children and other disturbing imagery.
“What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black? (Reflections of an African-American Mother)” by Margaret Burroughs (1963)
Like the mother in “Ballad of Birmingham,” the speaker in Burroughs’s poem is committed to keeping her child safe. In “Ballad of Birmingham,” the mother worries over immediate threats to her child’s safety if the child protests. The mother in Burroughs’s poem is more concerned about the corrosive influence of racism on her children’s identities; she acts by educating her children about their past, while the mother in “Ballad of Birmingham” seeks to insulate her daughter, with tragic results.
“The Last Quatrain of the Ballad of Emmett Till” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)
Like Randall, Gwendolyn Brooks relies on historical allusion—in this case, the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till—to examine the impact of racial violence on mothers and their children. Where Randall hews to the traditional ballad form, Brooks relies on vivid imagery to paint a realistic picture of what life is like after the death of the child. The contrasts between the two poems help highlight the strong storytelling elements Randall uses to recount popular Black history.
“February 12, 1963” by Jacqueline Woodson (2014)
The speaker in Woodson’s poem is a little Black girl who understands the history of slavery and segregation in the United States. Like the little girl in “Ballad of Birmingham,” she hopes for a better future. Unlike the little girl in “Ballad of Birmingham,” she sees this future as one that adults will secure for her.
Further Literary Resources
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)
King wrote his famous letter while incarcerated for protesting in Birmingham. A key part of his argument for engaging in protest is that unchecked racism has a negative impact on the identities of Black children. It is up to the adults around them to secure their futures. His perspective on the responsibilities of adults is in contrast to the mother’s in “Ballad of Birmingham.”
“Youth in the Civil Rights Movement” by the Library of Congress (n.d.)
This selection includes an overview of the ways Black children contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. The piece provides historical context for the little girl’s request to protest in “Ballad of Birmingham.”
If We Could Change the World: Young People and America's Long Struggle for Racial Equality by Rebecca de Schweinitz (2009)
De Schweinitz argues that children were central to the struggle for freedom in the United States and that their important role in the Civil Rights Movement should inspire a re-examination of ideas about children and social protest movements, namely, that children don’t just sit on the sidelines. De Schweinitz’s work provides important context that vindicates the little girl’s belief in the poem that she can make a difference.
“The Children’s Crusade: Birmingham—1963” by the Civil Rights Movement Archive (n.d.)
This site includes photographs of the protests that inspired the mother’s fears. Children and youth protestors are present in many of the photos, bearing out the little girl’s belief that she would be standing in solidarity with other children.
Listen to Poem
Dudley Randall reads “Ballad of Birmingham”
Randall reads “Ballad of Birmingham” at Studio B, Library of Congress, on October 23, 1975. The recording of the poem begins at 07:05 on the audio controller at the bottom of the page.
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