By Paul Laurence Dunbar
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.
We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!
Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote this poem in 1895 to express the facade of black America after the Civil War. Life was supposed to get better for blacks, but there was still oppression and racism. As the world entered the 1900s, racial discord was still prevalent in the United States. Over the next century, the country would see Jim Crow, the crash of the stock market, the Great Depression, the Harlem Renaissance, WWI and WWII, the Cold War, the Korean War, The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, the political and radical sixties, the War in Iraq, the War in the Persian Gulf, the disco era, and the birth of technology.
The country would also see the lynching of innocent black men, the flourishing of young artists, writers, poets, musicians, singers, and athletes. The emergence of the black man would be seen in groups like the Tuskeegee Airmen, the Black Panthers, and the NAACP. Black men were supposed to be brothers in arms as they fought for the same freedoms as white America. In the world of leadership, the world would be introduced to Marcus Garvey, Medgar Evers, W.E.B. DuBois, James Baldwin, Thurgood Marshall, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Beyond the mask, the 1900s was the reflection of recognition, accomplishment, and prosperity. But behind the mask remains pain, subtle degradation, and disrespect. Black men still carry the fear in the accusations of insulting a white woman ( Emmet Till), the stigma of being used as lab rats (the Tuskegee Experiment), the call to a segregated war (Tuskegee Airmen), the progress of peaceful leadership that leads to death (Evers, King, and Malcolm X), and the use of intimidating, eloquent rhetoric (Barack Obama).
It is 2020 and blacks are still wearing the mask. The mask that hides the disparity in employment and opportunity. The mask that hides the pain of being seen as inferior and invisible. The mask requiring a smile even in the face of humiliation. The mask that hides the pain of rejection because of skin color. The mask that veils realness from the pretentious facade of America. Why are we still having to wear the mask? When does truth reign over hypocrisy? When does communication replace assumption? When does becoming culturally aware decimate fear? When will America see and accept, and when will the mask finally be stripped away?
The mask. We find the mask most symbolic now because most people are wearing it to combat the pandemic assault. The mask is supposed to save and protect us and to some degree unite us against the raging war of Covid-19. For once we all look alike, communicate about the virus, and fear the same thing. There’s not much difference here because COVID is fierce and strikes without prejudice.
The mask. It is also symbolic of the hidden hatred that runs deep in the roots of America. Behind the mask, we see the white entitlement, the one-sided leadership, and the superior disposition. Behind the mask is the pain of fathers who will have to teach their sons how to navigate as a black man in America. The mask catches the tears of loved ones lost to senseless violence. The mask covers the anger and anguish of tired people. The mask reveals systemic, blatant racism that courses through the veins of the land of the free. The mask will become a permanent fixture that shows no forward progress. In 2020 a black man dies with a knee in the back of his neck by men sworn to serve and protect. A man is sitting at home and shot to death by an off-duty officer who claimed that she had the wrong apartment. A young man out for a morning jog is gunned down by a former law enforcement officer lying in wait. A woman is asleep in her bed when police burst through her door and shoot her only to find that they had the wrong apartment and wrong person. When does fear end and peace come?
Paul Laurence Dunbar may not have had the answer, but Jesus did. In Matthew 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace, You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” We may never see the uniting of people on a global scale. but we will see the face of the Father. No one lives this life without obstacles. For black people in America, it seems that those obstacles are increasing. As a people and as a nation, we must pray. We must believe that not every individual harbors a misunderstood hatred, not every individual sees skin color, and not every individual lives a life of fear. It is time to remove the mask.
We serve a mighty God who loves us and has created us in His image. In His creation, He did not say that one skin tone would be superior over the others (as found in man-made ideas). He did not say that the darker skins were meant to be oppressed (as slave owners misquoted scripture). He did not say that I love some more and others less (a psychological myth). He did say in Matthew 28:20 “Behold, I am with you to the end of the age.” He is with us through the veil of pain and suffering and in the unmasking of justice
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We are a nation in need of revival and change, and the only way that will come is through prayer. We can march, protest, and speak about equality, justice, and democracy. But in Chronicles 7:14 we are given a directive, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Our land can be healed, and the human condition can be enriched through the power of prayer. Our prayer can not be limited to ourselves and the plight of black Americans. It is imperative that in our prayers we include our world leaders who think in terms or everything global, politicians who seek popularity for an office built on lies and exclusionary practices, policemen who believe that racial profiling is the equivalent of protection, citizens who promote division and disparity, and for ourselves who could easily succumb to lies and propaganda of America. How do we take off the mask and confront the massive buildup of years of pain?
We start by “…not conform[ing] to the pattern of this world. but be[ing] transformed by the renewing of [our] mind. (Romans 12:2)”. We are to “pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints” because prayer is essential in winning the battle; physical and spiritual. Racism and hatred will not be eliminated immediately; therefore, we must remain alert and on guard with our prayer. After the pandemic, senseless murders of black men, and economic, social, and racial unrest, we pray for a time when Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” will no longer equate to a powderkeg of manufactured fear, deep pain, and injustice. Today we pray!
Copyright ©️ 2020 by CrayDawg, Inc.
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