Claude McKay’s published his collection “Harlem Shadows“ in 1922, containing his most popular publications in addition to new poems he had created. The Lynching first appears in this collection alongside If We Must Die, The Harlem Dancer, and a few other poems seen in the anthology but it doesn’t get much attention outside of its appearance in the collection. Reason being because society was not ready to accept the immoral acts committed against African Americans at this time, and African American were not ready to openly address their oppression in fear of the consequences. In comparison, If We Must Die was recognized as a patriotic poem and could be interpreted for both races, so it was more widely accepted, though often used outside of its actual meaning.
The poems from “Harlem Shadows” that appear in the anthology are all structured sonnets, though instead of romanticized subjects, Mckay addresses the African American views of their position in society. These are all popular poems and often associated with Mckay, but why were these poems chosen over the others? For instance there is one poem, a sonnet, in the “Harlem Shadows” collection named Wild May, similar to The Harlem Dancer, this poem address a female whose free spirit is tamed from being a sex slave and birthing “three brown beauties.” This poem too illustrates the sonnet structure but reveals a form of African American oppression that defeats the initial reading of a sonnet as a love poem; contradicting in nature.
To readdress the question, why is this poem not included in the anthology when it appears 
to fit the criterion? Of course there is a limited amount of space provided for each author but why not look at Wild May alongside The Harlem Dancer or even instead of. This is poem along with many others are not much spoken of but one must ask, why? In addition, Mckay’s sonnets are only offered in the anthology but a large number of his poems are not sonnets. Shouldn’t there be a variety of Makay’s writing offered so that the reader can get an idea of the different styles of Mckay’s poetry?
One reason I can think to answer the question of why these less popular poems are not recognized is that readers are more familiar with If We Must Die and Harlem Dancer with them being the most popular of his works. Another reason is that it is easier to select a certain style of poem to discuss in such a limited space. These may not be accurate assumptions but I find it interesting to think about the reason for some poems being chosen over others.
*I initially intended to look at The Lynching in the context of a literary magazine but I could not find one that included this poem so I decided to look at the poem in context of the “Harlem Shadows” collection.