The Shade of Black

A Wreath for Emmett Till
Author: Marilyn Nelson
Illustrator: Philippe Lardy
 Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Company
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 48
Genre: Poetry/ Single Illustrated Poem

This book is in a heroic crown of sonnet format. Nelson used the heroic crown of sonnets in a sequence of fifteen interlinked sonnets using the last line of each stanza to make the first lines of the proceeding fourteen poems. The last poem reads RIP EMMETT L. TILL. This book contains poems about a 14- year old black boy who was brutally murdered in Mississippi while visiting family. He was accused of whistling at a white woman. His mother had an open casket funeral to show how her son was savagely murdered. Nelson wrote the poem after learning about the lynching in 1955; she was nine years old at that time. Writing the poem was not meant to force on the subject lynching but to allow the Muse to determine what her poem would say. This poem reminds me of the Trayvon Martin case. It reminds me of what his mother is going through.

Your only child, a body thrown to bloat,
mother of sorrows, of justice denied.
Surely you must have thought of suicide,
seeing his gray flesh, chains around his throat.
Surely you didn't know you would devote
the rest of your changed life to dignified
public remembrance of how Emmett died,
innocence slaughtered by the hands of hate.
If sudden loving light proclaimed you blest
would you bow your head in humility,
your healed heart overflow with gratitude?
Would you say yes, like the mother of Christ?
Or would you say no to your destiny,
mother of a boy martyr, if you could?
Nelson divided the poem into three parts using the color green as a warming color. The first part "the crime" used the color red to symbolizing suffering and the tree to show the place of execution and symbol of his corpse. The second part used in earthy colors was for “the mourning.” The brown represents earth and death. She used the rectangle shape to represent the World Trade Centers. On the double-page spread there are lots of coffins that stand for all the anonymous victims. The last part "the lesson" colors of orange and yellow are used to symbol hope. The illustrations include use of symbols, colors, geometry, and layer to translate the elements into painting through small and large images.

This book is appropriate for ages 12-18. I would not use this book in an elementary classroom because of the context. This book would make a great addition to any Black History celebration.  I would use this book in seventh through twelfth grade by using it as a classroom discussion to talk about injustice, murder, and people speaking up. This book has several awards 2005 Boston Globe Horn Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, Micheal L. Printz, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award in 2006.