WE HAVE BEEN BELIEVERSBy Margaret Walker

Mike Coggins

Margaret Walker Born on July 7, 1915 in Birmingham, Alabama Received her Bachelor’s from Northwestern in 1935 Received her Master’s in creative writing from

University of Iowa in 1942 Founded the Institute for the Study of the History,

Life and Culture of Black People in 1968 Won the National Endowment Award for the

Humanities in 1972 Won the White House Award for Distinguished

Senior Citizen Died of cancer on November 30, 1998 in Chicago Famous for her literature concerning black culture

We Have Been BelieversWe have been believers believing in the black gods

of an old land, believing in the secrets of the seeress and the magic of the charmers and the power of the devil's evil ones.

And in the white gods of a new land we have been believers believing in the mercy of our masters and the beauty of our brothers, believing in the conjure of the humble and the faithful and the pure.

We Have Been BelieversNeither the slaves' whip nor the lynchers' rope nor the

bayonet could kill our black belief. In our hunger we beheld the welcome table and in our nakedness the glory of a long white robe. We have been believers in the new Jerusalem.

We have been believers feeding greedy grinning gods, like a Moloch demanding our sons and our daughters, ourstrength and our wills and our spirits of pain. We havebeen believers, silent and stolid and stubborn andstrong.

We Have Been BelieversWe have been believers yielding substance for the

world.With our hands have we fed a people and out of ourstrength have they wrung the necessities of a nation.Our song has filled the twilight and our hope hasheralded the dawn.

Now we stand ready for the touch of one fiery iron, for the cleansing breath of many molten truths, that the eyes of the blind may see and the ears of the deaf may hear and the tongues of the people be filled with living fire.

We Have Been BelieversWhere are our gods that they leave us asleep? Surely the

priests and the preachers and the powers will hear.Surely now that our hands are empty and our hearts too full to pray they will understand. Surely the sires ofthe people will send us a sign.

We have been believers believing in our burdens and ourdemigods too long. Now the needy no longer weep and pray; the long-suffering arise, and our fists bleedagainst the bars with a strange insistency.

The poem, again…

We Have Been BelieversWe have been believers believing in the black gods

of an old land, believing in the secrets of the seeress and the magic of the charmers and the power of the devil's evil ones.

And in the white gods of a new land we have been believers believing in the mercy of our masters and the beauty of our brothers, believing in the conjure of the humble and the faithful and the pure.

We Have Been BelieversNeither the slaves' whip nor the lynchers' rope nor the

bayonet could kill our black belief. In our hunger we beheld the welcome table and in our nakedness the glory of a long white robe. We have been believers in the new Jerusalem.

We have been believers feeding greedy grinning gods, like a Moloch demanding our sons and our daughters, ourstrength and our wills and our spirits of pain. We havebeen believers, silent and stolid and stubborn andstrong.

We Have Been BelieversWe have been believers yielding substance for the

world.With our hands have we fed a people and out of ourstrength have they wrung the necessities of a nation.Our song has filled the twilight and our hope hasheralded the dawn.

Now we stand ready for the touch of one fiery iron, for the cleansing breath of many molten truths, that the eyes of the blind may see and the ears of the deaf may hear and the tongues of the people be filled with living fire.

We Have Been BelieversWhere are our gods that they leave us asleep? Surely the

priests and the preachers and the powers will hear.Surely now that our hands are empty and our hearts too full to pray they will understand. Surely the sires ofthe people will send us a sign.

We have been believers believing in our burdens and ourdemigods too long. Now the needy no longer weep and pray; the long-suffering arise, and our fists bleedagainst the bars with a strange insistency.

The Speaker A black person, man or woman, speaking

on behalf of the black community as a whole

Speaks both of black culture and experience

Puts emphasis on black religious beliefs and practices

The Speaker’s Attitude towards the Poem’s Subject Matter

Belief in black culture Proud of their traditions- Nothing could “kill

our black belief.” Later feels a sense of abandonment- “Where

are our gods?” Black struggle in America

Never has a positive view of white oppression Initially- “believing in the mercy of our masters” By the end, there is a call for action

“believing in our burdens and our demigods too long.”

Organization of the Poem 8 stanzas Free verse Repetition of “We have been believers” to

emphasize the speaker’s main focus (black belief)

Stanzas 1-5 are in the past tense Description of past beliefs and experiences

Stanzas 6-8 are in the present tense Speaker’s thoughts as to what the black

community should do moving forward

Organization of the Poem Stanza 1

Description of traditional African beliefs Seeress (prophetess), charmers, and the devil’s

evil ones (demons) Stanza 2

Beginning of black experience in America “white gods of a new land” and “mercy of our

masters” Reference to white dominance

“beauty of our brothers” Fellow blacks

Organization of the Poem Stanza 3

Talks of black endurance through the hardships of slavery and racism “the slaves' whip nor the lynchers' rope nor the

bayonet could kill our black belief.” Constant sense of faith, but now it is faith in Jesus

“the new Jerusalem.” Stanza 4

Describes black service to the whites through slavery Reference to the Moloch, a Semitic god

Describes the blacks as stubborn, strong, silent, stolid

Organization of the Poem Stanza 5

Speaks of the importance of the slaves to America Their hands “wrung the necessities of a nation.” The song and hope are references to the slaves’

actions and mindsets while working Stanza 6

Hopes for a catalyst that will spark a movement for equality and rights Heat imagery- “fiery iron” and “molten truths”

and “tongues of living fire”

Organization of the Poem Stanza 7

Feels a sense of abandonment Still optimistic that the powers and the people will

hear the message that they need to revolt against racism and oppression

Stanza 8 States that they have accepted their “burdens”

(slavery/racism) and their “demigods” (whites) too long It is time to fight for rights “Fists bleed against the bars with a strange

insistency.” Image of a person in jail who yearns to escape

Dominant Imagery Slaves’ whip/Lynchers’ rope/Bayonet

Representative of the oppression that the blacks faced while enslaved

Basis for the speaker’s call for change The new Jerusalem

Image of hope and salvation for the black community Fire

“Fiery iron”- what will cause the blacks to revolt Fiery tongues- how the blacks will act during revolt

Gods Black gods- depicted as good White gods- the slaves’ masters

Diction Most language is straightforward, but

there are a few uncommon religious references Seeress, Moloch

Often describes with alliteration “secrets of the seeress” “mercy of our masters” “beauty of our brothers” “silent and stolid and stubborn and strong” “the priests and the preachers and the powers

will hear”

Syntax The poem is understandable, but some

unconventional word order is used “And in the white gods of a new land we have

been believers” Breaks her convention of repeating the refrain

at the beginning of sentences Says “We have been believers believing in…”

as opposed to “We have believed in…” to add emphasis to their belief in tradition

Conclusions “We Have Been Believers” straightforwardly

tells of the speaker’s views of black culture and experience. She notices that their old gods were replaced with new, white demigods (their masters). She describes the hardships that blacks have faced in America, specifically slavery. Her final plea to the black community shows her desire for change to occur. She doesn’t expect society to change itself. Instead, she believes that the blacks will have to work to achieve change.

References Biographies

http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/english/ms-writers/dir/alexander_margaret_walker/

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/walker/walker.htm