Lorenzo Thomas’ Chances Are Few and the African-American Identity: Examining the Impact of Mainstream American Culture on African-American Identity
Lorenzo Thomas’ Chances Are Few and the African-American Identity: Examining the Impact of Mainstream American Culture on African-American Identity

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the portrayal of African-American people in the contemporary American literature and culture. Through a close reading of a selection of Lorenzo Thomas’ poems from his collection Chances Are Few (1972), it becomes evident that black people are still confused regarding their identity, due to the influence of white people on the construction of their image. The role of the poet is to subvert this situation and offer new grounds upon which racial identity can be determined. Lorenzo Thomas revisits the clichéd images of black people in order to comment on them and expose their artificial nature as well as demonstrate the negative impact they have had on the way black people have viewed themselves. He maintains that mass media have perpetuated this artificial image of black people and exposes them as a means of propaganda led by the hegemonic white culture. This negative depiction has resulted in an inner conflict for black people who are torn between their American identity and their African heritage.

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