Declaration

“Declaration” is a short lyric poem with 17 lines of text and several empty white space lines representing lines from the “Declaration of Independence” erased by the poet. Some lines of text also contain spaces that bring specific attention to the words from the original document that the poet kept for their poignancy to the struggle of Black Americans. The whole poem is printed in italics because it quotes directly from a historical document as its primary source.

In the “Declaration of Independence,” the primary “he” that the document addresses is the King of England in July 1776, George III. Likewise, “Declaration” refers to a “he” never explicitly defined. This person could be Thomas Jefferson—the primary author of the original “Declaration”—a wealthy landowner from Virginia who enslaved people. Jefferson’s role as an establishment figure keeping the status quo of slavery in the United States contrasts with his words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson, “Declaration of Independence”). These fundamental rights were not available to much of the population in the early United States. Moreover, enslaved people of color did not have access to these rights and were treated as property.

In the poem, the character of “he” stands in for the dominant people with power throughout US history: white men. In this case, Smith’s poem also grapples with the patriarchal systems in the US, which benefited male property owners for centuries. It still largely excludes people of color from positions of power and governance today.

In Jefferson’s document, the other characters in the poem, “our,” initially were the citizens of the new United States (later defined as white property-holding men in the Constitution). “Declaration” reframes these people as Black Americans descended from enslaved Africans brought over to build the American colonies that became the United States.

Because the poem resonates with multiple layers of racial injustice in the United States, it is helpful for a brief analysis to focus on the contemporary contexts of the poem in depth. There is more information on the historical resonance in the Contextual Analysis and Motifs sections of this guide.

“Declaration” opens with the patriarchal “he” sending “swarms of Officers to harass our people” (Line 2). These “swarms of Officers” in Line 2 represent the antagonistic relationship between officers of the justice system and people of color. Smith uses this image to evoke the viral videos and images of police brutality against Black people that have sparked social movements for systematic change worldwide.

Next, the speakers detail the grievances “he” leveled against them. First, he “plundered” (Line 3) or took advantage of civil disorder to destroy the cultural identity of the descendants of enslaved Africans. This plundering occurred through persistent assimilation tactics, suppressing Black cultural elements deemed “bad,” and appropriating aspects of Black culture considered “good.”

Then the speakers declare that “he” “ravaged” (Line 4) their people. In one context, this can be read as deadly devastation to these people on the scale of a pandemic or natural disaster. Ravage is another word for rape, and in the context of sexual violence against Black bodies in America, reflects simultaneous over-sexualization and de-sexualization of people of color in popular culture.

In Line 5, “destroyed the lives of our” could refer to any act of overt racism leveled at Black Americans that prevented access to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The school-to-prison pipeline that overwhelmingly affects people of color in disadvantaged communities is one of the current systems that lines up with this.

Likewise, “taking away our” (Line 6) today resonates with systemic racism that limits the rights of Black Americans disproportionately. One example is the pervasiveness of laws that restrict the right to vote based on roadblocks to voter registration specifically aimed at financially disadvantaged Black people. Voter ID laws are the most recent example.

The next grievance, “abolishing our most valuable” (Line 7), highlights the importance of Black role models and representation. The patriarchal system continuously tries to undermine figures who inspire change. Prominent Black figures have been imprisoned, harassed, or assassinated. J. Edgar Hoover (former head of the FBI) famously hounded Dr. Martin Luther King before his assassination and the public’s large-scale acceptance of King as a symbol of civil rights. In a broader popular culture context, there was limited Black representation in film and television for decades.

Finally, the speakers point out that their relationship with the person the poem addresses altered “fundamentally the Forms of our” (Line 8), or the core of their identity. Black identity changed to the core because of the slave trade. This trauma resonates through the centuries since the trade first started in the Americas and still affects the systems of racial inequity.

The speakers in this poem are not passive in the face of the grievances. They assert: “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for / Redress in the most humble terms” (Lines 9-10). The speakers continually argued for their freedom and equality throughout history. Today, people of color still deal with racial inequity daily and must navigate the systems of power that oppress them using coded terms.

These petitions “have been answered only by repeated injury” (Line 11), which causes generational mistrust. These injuries against Black Americans’ rights echo back against any call for change. Any right is hard-fought and hard-won.

As a final argument, the speakers remind their addressee “of the circumstances of our emigration / and settlement here” (Lines 13-14). This phrase from the “Declaration of Independence” is especially poignant since most white colonists came to the United States for wealth, opportunity, and religious freedom. Conversely, the “circumstances” in Smith’s poem are the brutal system of the slave trade.

The last three stanzas of “Declaration” are images of this slave trade. “Taken Captive” (Line 15) evokes how slavers stole people from their homes and families. “On the high Seas” (Line 16) describes the transatlantic journey on slave ships from Africa to the Americas, which killed millions. “To bear” (Line 17) evokes the types of labor involved in slavery: carrying heavy objects, building, farming. This image includes the suffering and struggles of losing your human rights by being considered property. It also reminds the reader that Black people carried and built the nation for much of the country’s history. In all, Black Americans have put up with an overwhelming amount while routinely being considered—at best—second-class citizens.