Flag Salute Explained

"Flag Salute" is a poem written by Esther Popel about the lynching of George Armwood on October 18, 1933 in Princess Anne, Maryland.^{[1] [2]} It was first published in August 1934 in The Crisis^[3] and later republished in its entirety on the cover of The Crisis in 1940.^[1]

It juxtaposes the murder of Armwood with quotations from the Pledge of Allegiance.^[4] The poem reflects that lynching in the United States had become a "ritual of interracial social control."^[5]

Notes and References

1. The Crisis. November 1940. Cover. Flag Salute. 27 April 2015. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
2. Book: Rice. Anne P.. Witnessing Lynching: American Writers Respond. October 9, 2008. Rutgers University Press. 978-0813533308. 282. 27 April 2015.
3. Book: West. Sandra L.. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Amazon Digital Services, Inc.. 266. 27 April 2015. September 1, 2003. 9781438130170.
4. Book: Bracks. Lean'tin L. Smith. Jessie Carney. Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era. 16 October 2014. Bowman and Little Field. 173. 9780810885431. 9 December 2014.
5. Book: Selim. Yasser Fouad. Who Defines Me: Negotiating Identity in Language and Literature. 2014. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Newcastle upon Tyne. 978-1443859684. 91. 27 April 2015.