Endless Faith

After reading Pauline Hopkins' "As the Lord Lives, He is One of Our Mother's Children" and Claude McKay's poems, I wonder how people of their time still managed to have faith in God despite all of the turmoil and hard times they faced. This shines through in Hopkins' story with Stone and Reverend Stevens.

Reverend Stevens was a kind, Godly man who found it in his heart to take in a desperate man, George Stone, when he was sick and at a dead end. He later finds out he was accused for the murder of a black man and there was a reward out for finding him and turning him in. While Reverend Stevens could have made $1,500, he found it in his heart to cover Stone's back and keep him safe in hiding, until all of the commotion blew over and he could safely escape. This display of kindness and care is expected of a reverend, but it also showed in a fugitive black man, who had no hope in life, George Stone.

After parting ways with Stevens and his beloved son Flip, Stone encounters them again years down the road in a tragedy situation. Stone discovers a huge tree on a train track, and hears God telling him what he has to do. He must remove the tree from the track so that the train can safely pass without crashing and killing the passengers on board, which consists of Reverend Stevens and his son Flip. After all Stevens did for Stone out of the love in his heart, Stone knew he had to save him and his son. Therefore, he works and works to get the tree off the track, with the love and support through prayers from God. In his final moments alive, Stone is one on one with God, praying for help and salvation. Stone then gets struck by the train, taking his life to save the lives of Stevens and Flip. Both men found it in their hearts to sacrifice their safety through God's faith and love to save the other.

One small example of having faith in God also shows up in one of Claude McKay's poems, "If We Must Die." Claude explains that in his times, many many black men were lynched and violently killed for one reason or another. This reflects him believing "If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot" (page 707 lines 1-4). He knows even if he must die, he needs to do in nobly, with faith in God that everything will end up alright and not fight what his fate holds.