Gwendolyn Bennett Heritage

Since African ‘Americans’ have arrived off of the slave ship that sailed through the middle passage, African Americans have struggled with what it means to be African and what it means to be American. Although centuries have passed since the chattel slave ship filled with Africans has landed on American soil, even presently today African Americans are caught in an internal power struggle between being an American and being an African American as well. Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, and Gwendolyn Bennet are phenomenal African American poets who perfectly depict the internal conflict of being stuck between two clashing cultures. The poets not only describe the struggle of being African and American but they also describe what Africa means
Bennett’s poem Heritage is a beautiful representation of the importance of African heritage as an African American. The poem Heritage is a poem filled with African pride. Bennett envisions herself in Africa and what it actually be like if she was there. It is hard for many African Americans to envision themselves living in Africa especially since it has been so long since African-Americans as a whole have actually lived in Africa. In this poem you sense Bennett longing to be back in her homeland and her sense of connection even after being disconnected for so long. The immense feelings of homesickness resonate throughout the poem. It must have been difficult for Bennett to feel such a great amount of homesickness while also having to assimilate to an American culture that treated her as if she was a second class citizen as if her ancestors did not build America off of their backs. Bennett does an excellent job of describing her attachment to her heritage and navigating through America as a black woman longing to connect herself to her authentic
Cullen begins his poem questioning himself about what Africa means to him and it I extremely interesting because you sense his uncertainty. He proceeds to describe Africa as a beautiful place but then follows the statement with him himself pondering about what Africa really is like. He often questions himself about Africa which is somber due to the fact that he is innately ignorant to his own culture. Throughout Heritage, he also discusses the internal conflict of having to choose between two cultures, African American culture, and American culture. Many Americans who are not African Americans find it hard to actually see the divide between the two cultures, there is a veil. Cullen describes this internal conflict between the two cultures in lines twenty-five through thirty, “With the dark blood dammed within, like great pulsing tides of wine. That, I fear, must burst the fine channels of the chafing net, where they surge and foam and fret.” The absolute fact that African Americans were brought first brought to America against their own will is upsetting but what is even more upsetting is the fact that African Americans have to struggle with two complete conflicting cultures, and not too many people understand this issue unless they are African American