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Langston Hughes: Voice of a Time and a People In 20 th century America, the oppression facing African-Americans is possibly the most controversial and historical ever. The constant battle they have fought is voiced clearly in the works produced by African-American authors, poets, artists and musicians during and prior to the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in a period known as the Harlem Renaissance. The voice that perhaps rang the truest among all people is that of Langston Hughes. His work so sincerely expressed the needs, wants, and passions of his people, during a time when, perhaps, these issues were being pushed aside. Hughes poetry reflects the views of African-Americans during the 20 th century. He speaks with a passion for life, love, and the basic human desire for happiness.
Very rarely does someone like Hughes come along, someone whose voice can speak for an entire people. In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed, abolishing the practice of slavery. Although this was a great leap in the freedom of African-Americans, they were still far from the equality that they so longed for. The struggle had just begun. The turn of the century brought many changes for African-Americans. They had slowly built up communities in America s urban areas or rural land.
Although a very few number of African-Americans could actually be considered successful at this point in time, most had cut all ties from their family s slave master and had made a life for themselves and the generations to come. Despite the advances made, African-Americans were still treated horribly by whites. They were segregated from society, placed on the outside and looked upon as outcasts. They were not given the same freedoms or opportunities as the white man. Although white America kept assuming that African-Americans would accept their preconceived place in society, many revolutionary sparks began to fly in the early 20 th century.
Protest groups began to form all over the nation. Many prominent leaders in the African-American community began to speak out, often times loudly, about the unjust treatment their people received. The Great Depression of the 1930 s increased black protests against discrimination, especially in northern cities. Blacks protested the refusal of white-owned businesses in all-black neighborhoods to hire black salespersons. Using the slogan Dont Buy Where You Cant Work, these campaigns persuaded blacks to boycott those businesses and revealed a new militancy. During the same years, blacks organized school boycotts in northern cities to protest discriminatory treatment of black children. (Encarta) The Civil Rights Movement in America technically lasted from the early 1930 s through the late 1960 s.
The movement was led by such historical figures as Martin Luther King Jr. , Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall, Media Evers, and Malcolm X. The spirit of the Civil Rights movement was motivated largely by the whites reaction. They seemed to be caught off guard by the fact that a people they had considered so inferior could rise up and challenge them. The movement really began to take off as a new voice began to sound in America: the voice of a people who could not and would not be treated unequally.
James Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He came from a long line of African-American activists. His grandfather, aunt, and uncle had all, in some way, made an impact on the struggle for equality. This sparked a fascination with freedom in Hughes young mind. Hughes attended school in Cleveland, Ohio, where he showed an early talent for writing, specifically poetry. His works were being published in the high school newspaper on a regular basis.
After finishing high school, Hughes furthered his education at Columbia University in New York City, an accomplishment unheard by an African-American at the time. It was here, in this new environment, that Hughes talent for verse really began to flourish. During the mid- 1920 s, a movement known as the Harlem Renaissance was beginning to take shape. The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic and cultural awakening of African-Americans, largely fueled by the oppression that they were being subjected to.
Authors and poets such as Claude McKay, Zora Neale Huston, and Eubie Blake began to express their opinions and stories through their works. When Hughes moved to Harlem in 1924, he was introduced to the revolutionary ideas of the Harlem Renaissance. The goal of this movement was not a violent one, not one that would result in an overthrow of government or riots. But rather, the aim of the Harlem Renaissance was to teach African-American pride, and, most importantly, to gain the tolerance of whites and to desegregate America.
This mindset struck a chord with African-Americans throughout the country, and many followed its example. Hughes work is a clear reflection of the way African-Americans viewed their situation at the time. He speaks with much love for his people. Hughes was proud of being black. This is illustrated in such poems as My People. In this poem, Hughes writes, The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people. (Hughes, 13) Here, Hughes shows his unabashed pride at being black. He speaks simply yet firmly of his awareness that his people are beautiful and deserve to be treated that way. Perhaps one of the most motivational forces behind Hughes work was his determination for equality. He spoke of the future with such hope and zeal for what his people could accomplish.
This was an idea shared by many Civil Rights leaders and activists of the 1960 s. All over the country, African-Americans were showing their discontent with the racial situation in America. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. were saying that there was a great future approaching, and that the black man was going to gain his absolute equality and be treated as a true American.
Hughes poem I, Too is a mirror image of the hopeful and determined outlook his people had at the time. In the poem, Hughes writes, I, too, sing America. I am their darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I ll be at the table When company comes. Nobody ll dare say Eat in the kitchen, Then.
Besides, They ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed I, too, am America. (Hughes, 275) This poem is a beautiful, passionate description of what Hughes knows his people can accomplish. The table represents America. This is where the whites sit, because they are the only ones truly treated as Americans. The kitchen represents oppression, where the African-Americans have been forced for so many years.
When company, or opportunity comes along, African-Americans have always been left out. But, as Hughes states, Tomorrow, I ll be at the table. He is saying that one day, his people will be able to share in the opportunity that America has to offer, because they, too, are a part of America. Another poem that illustrates Hughes determination for a change is Graduation. In this poem, a young black woman has just earned her degree in typing and is eating dinner with her mother. Her mother is bubbling with pride at the thought that her daughter has received an education.
She exclaims, The colored race will rise! (Hughes, 182) This is an another example of the African-American s persistence for equality. Hughes had a unique way of summing up the views of an entire people with simple, terse statements. Despite Hughes overall optimistic outlook, he sometimes falls into a darker view of the conditions. In the poem Porter, Hughes says Rich old white man owns the world (Hughes, 169). This reflects some of the doubt that blacks felt about their position in society. Even though the Civil Rights movement s approach was optimistic, many blacks still felt the insecurity of knowing that their country was ruled by rich white men.
A big reason that Hughes work remains the truest voice of African-Americans in the 20 th century is his refusal to state that his experience or ideas are different than those of all his people. He gives no identity to the voice in his work, but rather, generalizes it to the point where anyone, white or black, can relate to what he expresses in his poems. The experiences recounted or ideas proposed belong to his people as a whole, not him as an individual. Carl Van Vechten dubbed him the Negro Poet Laureate. Hughes was a major figure of the Harlem renaissance.
Unlike other notable black poets of the period Claude McKay, Jean Tower and County Cullen- Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people without personalizing them, so the reader could step in and draw his own conclusions. (Longman) In all, Hughes work is a clear reflection of his peoples feelings during the 20 th century. His voice speaks volumes for the conditions of the time, as well as what African-Americans hoped and dreamed.
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