Perspectives

Historical perspectives

The title of the short story “She Shall Not Be Moved” by Shereen Pandit references a Black slave spiritual hymn from the 19th century. The hymn quotes Biblical text Jeremiah 17:17-8; and Psalm 1:3. It presents faith in God as a powerful force that makes the singer strong and unmoved “like a tree planted by the water”. 

“I Shall Not Be Moved” later became a protest song, and in the 20th century it gained popularity as the song of the Civil Rights Movement. The purpose of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement was to end institutionalized racial discrimination in the US. This is significant, since the short story shows that racial discrimination still takes place today. 

The bus incident mentioned in the story recalls a historical bus incident from 1955. A black civil activist named Rosa Parks refused to giv...