The Poem “Power” by Audre Lorde, Essay Example

In the Poem “Power, the persona expresses her anger and fury over the jury’s acquittal of a cop after having killed a ten years old black child. The poem “power” mainly focuses on how the white people misuse their power against the black. The phrase “there are tapes to prove that too” (Power) indicate that despite the heavy evidence presented against the cop, the jury still could not pass a verdict that would bring justice to the dead child. The statement “…I didn’t notice the size nor nothing else only the color” made by the cop during trial, depicts a society full of racism regardless of the individuals age or gender (Power). The black innocent child therefore suffered death in the hands of a cop who was proving his hatred for the black people through a gun.

At the same time, the statement “…were satisfied justice had been done” depicts the racism and corruption that existed in the white man 11 people bench jury. Despite sufficient evidence of the innocent child murder, releasing the cop was a fair justice in their opinion. Instances of this nature are a common thing in the society (State News Service). One such incident was the trial of George Zimmerman; in this case, a young man Martin Trayvon was on his way home, when a white man, George Zimmerman pursued him and during their struggle, he shot martin dead (Burnett 1). In the verdict, the jury indicated that it was actually Martin, who pursued Zimmerman and wanted to kill him. At the end, he went free. This depicts the manner in which the white people use their Power against the black not only in public domains but also even in the corridors of justice (Korner Vol.1).

Works Cited

Burnett, Bob. “Racism in America: The Killing of Trayvon Martin.” The Huffington Post. Version 2. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 19 July 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/racism-in-america-the-kil_b_3623101.html>.

Korner , Celestine . “Racism.” Articles about. Version 1. Nature Publishing Group, 30 Sept. 2008. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/racism>.

“Power.” by Audre Lorde : The Poetry Foundation. Version 1. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 5 July 1997. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/240144>.

State News Service. “Two Days of Exploration: Fifty Years Later: The State of Racism in America.” States News Service [New York] 28 Oct. 2013, 9 ed., sec. 3: 5. Print.