Carrie Williams Clifford, "Race Rhymes" (1911)
Carrie Williams Clifford was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1862. She was born free, though it's worth noting that that point in American history, many other African Americans remained enslaved. Clifford was born into a middle-class family; her mother was a successful businesswoman. Clifford lived in Cleveland for some years, before marrying William H. Clifford. The couple later moved to Washington, DC, where the Cliffords hosted gatherings with many prominent African-American activists, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Alain Locke, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Mary Church Terrell.
Among the collections of poetry we have been reading while developing this archive, there is no doubt that Clifford's Race Rhymes is among the most forthright in its commitment to activism and racial justice. While Georgia Douglas Johnson and others aspired towards a certain level of polish -- perhaps influenced by critics like William Stanley Braithwaite -- here Clifford is first and foremost interested in producing verses that speak to the social issues of her day. In her preface to this collection, Clifford says as much: "In giving to the world this brochure, the author makes no claim to unusual poetic excellence or literary brilliance."
To this reader, the poems that deal with concrete historical themes are among the most memorable, especially, "Lines to Garrison," "Foraker and the Twenty-Fifth," and "Atlanta's Shame." The first of those three poems narrates, in celebratory fashion, the life of famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. "Foraker and the Twenty-Fifth" is an account of Joseph B. Foraker's contentious political quarrel with President Teddy Roosevelt over a historical event known as the "Brownsville Affair," where an entire battalion of African-American troops was dishonorably discharged by the President for dubious reasons. Finally, "Atlanta's Shame" is a response to the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, which which left as many as 100 African-American men dead following questionable claims of sexual assault on white women.
--Amardeep Singh, Lehigh University
Works Cited:
P. Jane Slawn, "Introduction." Writings of Carrie Williams Clifford and Carrie Law Morgan Figgs. New York: G.G. Hall & Co., 1996.
