"Ballad of Birmingham"

(On the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963)

“Mother dear, may I go downtown

Instead of out to play,

And march the streets of Birmingham

In a Freedom March today?”

“No, baby, no, you may not go,

For the dogs are fierce and wild,

And clubs and hoses, guns and jails

Aren’t good for a little child.”

“But, mother, I won’t be alone.

Other children will go with me,

And march the streets of Birmingham

To make our country free.”

“No, baby, no, you may not go,

For I fear those guns will fire.

But you may go to church instead

And sing in the children’s choir.”

She has combed and brushed her night-dark hair,

And bathed rose petal sweet,

And drawn white gloves on her small brown hands,

And white shoes on her feet.

The mother smiled to know her child

Was in the sacred place,

But that smile was the last smile

To come upon her face.

For when she heard the explosion,

Her eyes grew wet and wild.

She raced through the streets of Birmingham

Calling for her child.

She clawed through bits of glass and brick,

Then lifted out a shoe.

“O, here’s the shoe my baby wore,

But, baby, where are you?”

Dudley Randall bases this poem on a historical incident in Birmingham Alabama. In 1963, Alabama was the site of marches and demonstrations protesting the racial segregation of schools and other facilities. On September 15, 1963, a bomb exploded during Sunday School at a Baptist church. The bomb killed four children and injured fourteen. Randall writes this poem in order to describe the limitless brutality of adversaries of the civil rights movement. For example, in the very first stanza the child would rather "march the streets of Birmingham" to pursue a movement for freedom than go out to play. This unique attitude of the child portrays the irony of the situation. The child seems to have a desire to be older and more mature in order to have the opportunity to fight for her rights. In fact, the mother refers to her child as "baby" and a "little child" as if she doesn't acknowledge this shift in her child's attitude. This relates to the idea that the child is innocent and naive. She does not understand the magnitude of the situation, which is filled with "guns and jails" and "clubs and hoses". In fact, the child is described as "rose petal sweet" after her bath, which further exemplifies her innocence. The rose generally has the connotation of perfection and love. Thus, the speaker makes it seem impossible to harm such a pure child. In fact, she is described as wearing "white gloves" and "white shoes". The connotation of white is purity. This further portrays the child's innocence as an individual.

I also think that the mother is innocent through her protectiveness. First off, she does not acknowledge the fact that her child has transitioned from a "baby" to an individual that wants to pursue her freedom. However, she denies her child by claiming "For I fear those guns will fire." According to the New England Oxford American Dictionary, fire has the denotation of a fervent or passionate emotion or enthusiasm. She seems to be suppressing her child of expressing the strong emotion of equal rights by denying her from going to the march. Instead she makes her go to church, a place where she believes everyone is safe. After the explosion, the mother looks for her child in the church but cannot find her. This portrays the limitless brutality of the adversaries of civil rights. The idea that their evilness has no limits. I feel that Randall purpose describes the innocence of the mother and child to further contrast the effect of brutality on innocence. The child had nothing to do with the movement, yet she was still a casualty. I also think it is important to note that the brutality of the adversaries of civil rights completely disregarded the sanctity of church. A place used for religious worship was bombed, and this further portrays the limitless nature of brutality with regards to the civil rights movement.