Strong Men

I most closely related with the poem, “Strong Men,” by Sterling Brown. Brown discusses the struggles of African Americans who seem to be overcoming every hurdle that is thrown at them by white people. He begins the poem with the voyage of Africans, Brown even states that, “they broke you in like oxen,” which is the breaking of the Africans spirit and culture like they were wild animals only good enough for labor (675). Through his discussion of the black struggle, he gives us hope by implementing old spirituals that represent the unbroken spirit of the people. Inspiration is provided in lines like, “walk togedder, chillen, dontcha git weary…,” which shows how Africans Americans push each other to keep going (676). With time Brown know that as a people we will eventually break through, “The strong men gitten’ stronger” (677).  He also shows that with each struggle conquered by blacks as a people we are getting closer to that goal.