Waving the Flag—in 1910

Flag

On the 4th of July, many will be waving the U.S. flag.

In 1910, when sixteen-year-old poet Christina Moody was publishing, it would have been the 46-star one, like that above. We post the flag of Christina’s era on this national holiday, along with pages from the African-American girl’s rare book of poetry, Tiny Spark. Her only known publication, the small volume of varied verse has attracted scholarly and critical attention in recent decades. The two facing poems below have a special resonance today because of recent tragic events that have brought flags to the fore. The poems encourage us to think deeply about symbols and identity, and what it means to be a citizen of the United States of America, as we commemorate the day when our nation was founded.

Christina Moody, Tiny Spark (Washington, D.C., 1910) / PS3525.O47 T5 1910
Christina Moody, Tiny Spark (Washington, D.C., 1910) / PS3525.O47 T5 1910

Portrait and p14