Paul Laurence Dunbar - We Wear the Mask - Great Poems

We Wear the Mask is a poem written by the African American poet and novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar in 1895. It was a reaction to the experience of being black in America in the late 19th century, following the Civil War, a period when life seemed to have improved for black Americans, yet in reality, was still marked by intense racism and hardship.
Dunbar compares surviving the pain of oppression to wearing a mask that hides the suffering of its wearer, while presenting a more joyful face to the world.
The poem does not specifically mention race; its message is applicable to any circumstance in which marginalized people are forced to present a brave face in order to survive in an unsympathetic, prejudiced society.
--
Read by Shawn Craig Smith
https://librivox.org/short-poetry-collection-085-by-various/
--
CREDITS
MUSIC
---
Drums of the Deep by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400021
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
---
Photos and vids
https://pixabay.com/vectors/mask-carnival-face-acting-costume-151244/
https://pixabay.com/photos/stars-sky-night-starry-sky-1845140/
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/abstract-shape-to-form-to-dye-1963884/
--
TEXT: https://cooltext.com/Logo-Design-Outline