Mine Eyes Have Seen

Mine Eyes Have Seen (1918) is a one-act play by Alice Dunbar Nelson. Published in The Crisis, the influential journal of the NAACP, Mine Eyes Have Seen is a brutal portrait of race and identity in twentieth century America. Exploring themes of violence, faith, patriotism, and economic struggle, Dunbar Nelson crafts a poignant and unforgettable work of fiction. When their father, a successful black man, is lynched by vengeful white neighbors, Dan, Chris, and Lucy flee north with their mother. They reach the city safely, but their mother soon dies from heartbreak and exhaustion, leaving her children to fend for themselves. Dan, the eldest, manages to support his siblings until an accident at the factory leaves him crippled. This forces Chris, a bitter young man, to take financial responsibility for the family. When the United States enters the First World War, authorizing the Selective Service Act of 1917, Chris is drafted into the military. Despite his hesitation and distrust of a government that allowed his father to be murdered with impunity, he soon comes under the influence of patriotic white neighbors who encourage him to sacrifice his life for the nation. This edition of Alice Dunbar Nelson’s Mine Eyes Have Seen is a classic of African American literature reimagined for modern readers.

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