We wear the mask

Paul Laurence Dunbar, an African American poet and novelist, penned "We Wear the Mask" in 1895. "We Wear the Mask," like much of Dunbar's writing, is a response to the experience of being black in America in the years following the Civil War, when things appeared to have improved for black Americans but in reality they were still subjected to severe bigotry and suffering. Dunbar likens enduring the agony of oppression to donning a mask that hides the wearer's anguish while projecting a happier face to the outside world.

However, despite everything, the poem itself does not directly discuss race; instead, its message may be applied to any situation in which oppressed individuals are required to put on a brave face in order to survive in an unsympathetic, prejudiced society. We all put up a facade that makes us appear content, yet this is a falsehood. The mask casts a shadow over our eyes and conceals our cheeks. We pay for the fact that humans are capable of such duplicity by wearing this mask. We smile even when our emotions feel broken and battered, and when we speak to others, we carefully make millions of small adjustments in an effort to hide our genuine selves.

What would the rest of society gain by carefully observing every facet of our suffering? No, only when we are wearing masks will society be able to see our faces. Even though we are grinning, we are actually praying to God from the bottom of our broken hearts. We sing, but the mile we have to go through feels like it will take forever because of the nasty muck. Let the rest of society act as though we aren't in pain despite all of this. We'll continue donning the mask in the interim!

Poet: Paul Laurence Dunbar
Published: 1895