"We Real Cool", by Gwendolyn Brooks can be regarded as one of the most influential poems for the black community in the 1960's. Brooks displays intense passion within the poem. If the reader does not feel the black struggle within the poem, they should read it again. Brooks wrote this poem at the peak of the black oppression in America. Blacks in America were not giving voting rights, and basically were second class citizens. Many blacks felt as though school could not help them in a system that was designed for them to fail. Brooks wrote this poem in an effort to stimulate some change, and black empowerment. Brooks was born on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. Shortly after, her family moved to Chicago, which proved to have a major influence. Chicago gave her a different perspective on racial issues. Brooks believes that the environment which African Americans live in creates their struggles with poverty and failure.
Brooks portrays the life of seven ordinary teenage high school......
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