Brown Girl Dreaming
Woodson, Literature, and Social Justice
Katie Roessel 21st Century Lit. and Time Oct. 25th 2022 Woodson, Literature, and Social Justice Jacqueline Woodson’s “brown girl dreaming” is a memoir written entirely in poems, describing her life as a black Jehovah’s Witness growing up in the south during the 1960s and 1970s. In the beginning of the novel, in the poem “the beginning,” she writes of the beginning of her literacy journey. It was then when she asked her sister “Will the words end.” Her sister replies “Nope,” promising Woodson “infinity.” Woodson, through the description of her own life, portrays the idea that the whole world can be found through written words. This idea of the infinite world of literature brings to my mind the written works of social justice figures throughout modern history. I think about the words of Martin Luther King Jr. in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. I think about the written speeches of Malcolm X. I think about Nelson Mandela’s various essays. I...
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