Who Is Langston Hughes I Too Sing America?

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. He was separated from his parents at a young age and spent majority of his childhood with his grandmother in Kansas. Once his grandmother passed away, he moved in with family friends. . This unstable early life shaped the mind of Langston into a poetic frame.

James Mercer Langston Hughes, (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was born in Joplin, Missouri, to James Nathaniel and Caroline Hughes in 1902. Hughes’ parents were of mixed-race, and Langston Hughes was of African American, European American and Native American descent. Hughes' father left his family and later divorced Carrie using it as a way to escape the unbearable racism in America. After his parents’ separation, his mother travelled in

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He grew up mainly in Lawrence, Kansas but also lived in Illinois, Ohio and Mexico. Constantly having to travel he wrote his poem that would make him famous, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Having different expectations his parents slit up resulting in him living with his maternal grandmother.

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay share similar qualities in their respective poems “I, Too, Sing America” written by Hughes and “America” written by McKay. These poems, though different and unique in style, share common characteristics that make each poem a classic piece of American literature. Hughes and McKay, both African American males, were very notable during the Harlem Renaissance period. Both writers express their views on their individual African Americans perceptions in America in these poems, through their use of diction, tone, theme.

Hughes’ famous poem, I, Too, was written in the mid 1920’s. Similar to most African Americans pioneers in this era, he felt strongly about “racial segregation,” (Ilieva and Lennox 1) or racial inequality and used his writings to voice his opinion on the issue. In I, Too, Hughes states that he is the “darker brother” (713) of America, meaning that he is a member of the African American community. At this particular time, racial inequality was a common issue for African Americans. Jim Crow laws were in effect to keep African Americans from receiving equal treatment as White Americans. Further evaluating stanza two from I, Too, Hughes says “They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes” (713) showing a time of racial inequality. Along

James Langston Hughes, Joplin, 1902 - New York, 1967 an American writer. He was one of the greatest exponents of the Renaissance Harlem in the twenties and later, the chief representative of the Afro-American culture, which took him not only one of his most brilliant poets but a tireless protagonist and promoter . Through his writings and public appearances he had as main objective the social and civil progress of the black population of the United States. He spent his childhood in Kansas with his maternal grandmother. He lived for a short time with his father in Mexico, but left him because of this disregard for his own race. He traveled by sea and played junior in France and Italy work before making its appearance on the literary scene in Harlem, where he published between 1921 and 1925, in the

“I too sing America. I am the darker brother.” (Langston Hughes, “I, Too,” from Collected Poems, 46). Langston Hughes had many factors throughout his life that influenced his works. He was an artist that had works that crossed over into jazz, blues, and expressed his culture. During the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes shared his African American pride with others through his poetry, promoting equality and justice, while living life affected by racism, segregation, and Jim Crow laws.

Andrea Serna Prof. Brill 6 May 2015 Let America be America Again During the Harlem Renaissance there was an enormous emergence of culture and social and political tensions. Along with the growing culture of the 1920’s, Langston Hughes’ poetry was discovered. Throughout the period Hughes was creating poetry many political incidents were occurring which caused Hughes to create “Let America be America Again.” This poem was created with an underlying tone of frustration and hope about the freedom America sells to its citizens.

James Langston Hughes was born February 1st, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri. His father, James Nathaniel Hughes, was a stenographer and bookkeeper and his mother, Carrie Mercer Langston, was a stenographer. Hughes's father abandoned him and his mother and moved to Cuba and then to Mexico when Hughes was young to escape the racism of America. Often left by his mother who was unemployed and searching for jobs, Langston Hughes was mainly raised by his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas. Finally in 1915, he moved Lincoln, Nebraska and later to Cleveland, Ohio with his mother and step-father.

James Mercer Langston Hughes (full name), was born on February 1, 1902 and died in May 22, 1967, at the age of 65 years old. Langston Hughes career was to write poems, novels, etc. Which they all got published with his signature on it, which one of his poems was called “The Negro Speaks of River”, that became his signature book. Hughes worked with other people; Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Richard Bruce Nugent and Aaron Douglas, that they all (except McKay) worked on a magazine. When he died in New York City from complications in the hospital after a abdominal surgery, his ashes were buried beneath a floor on the medallion in the middle of the foyer. Which took location in the Schomburg

Langston Hughes, “I too, Sing America” chronicles an African American man’s struggle in the age of inequality, racism and segregation in the United States. The poem cleverly combines the use of a kitchen and the arrival of company as metaphors to represent racial segregation in society faced by African American’s faced during the early twentieth century. Although, it is not mentioned directly in the poem, the speaker’s use of language suggests that he equates discrimination in a small kitchen with the general American society. As the speaker recounts his mistreatment, he notes that he is relegated to the kitchen when the company arrives and signals his wish to participate fully in a country that he claims proudly as his own.

Another, significant factor Lorraine Hansberry institutes in her playwright, its Langston Hughes poem, A Dream Deferred. The author uses the following poem as an epigraph, installing a connection between the story and the morals of the rhyme. It is important to realize that Langston Hughes is “particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties.” (Joplin, Poets). He was a key civil rights fighter, tackling the situation African Americans, who had been deprived of admittance to the several American dreams. Hughes poem basically asks the readers what happens to dreams that never come true. Despite the fact that at the end of the play they moved out and got the house they wanted,

“Weary Blues” is one of Langston Hughes more popular works to say the least. It is an interesting interpretation of the 20’s considering it's sad connotation and reference of the “Blues”. It is almost like he knew that the “Roarin’ 20’s” wasn’t going to last. The poem itself is spoken by an unknown third party, speaking to the audience about a man he heard singing the night before. It is very rhythmic and has a discernible beat to it.

“Negro” by Langston Hughes Introduction The timing and setting of “Negro” is a story that reflects on African American during the 1920’s about the trials and tribulation they endured during slavery, after slavery and what’s happening in the present by the whites, all because of their color. The main theme of this poem is racism because it plays a major part as the focal point as how blacks are treated. The author uses the tone of sadness, disappointment and proud in this poem to tell of his feelings to the reader. The Title “Negro” helps to explain who the subject is and what is about the poem. The poem is written in a first person to demonstrate suffering in a personal way by those before or after.

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri, to school teacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes. Hughes’ father left his family, and later divorced Carrie moving to Cuba, and then Mexico trying to escape the racism in the United States. Since his mom traveled looking for work, young Langston was being raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Patterson Langston in Lawrence, Kansas. She told him stories of abolitionist and courageous slaves who struggled for their freedom, it was these stories that gave him a great sense of racial pride. After the death of his grandmother in 1912 Langston lived with family friends for awhile, but, eventually he ended up