Told from the perspective of black American poet Langston Hughes, the poem details the confrontation between a landlord and his tenant in the early to middle 1900's. The tenant is upset with the poor living conditions with examples like a leaky roof and broken steps. The landlord says that the tenant must pay him ten dollars for rent. The tenant refuses to pay until his problems have been attended to. The landlord is not having it and threatens to evict the tenant. Feeling that one threat deserves another, the tenant also threatens the landlord with a punch. The landlord calls the police because of the tenant's threat. The media distorts this incident and portrays the tenant (and not the landlord) as the aggressor. The tenant is arrested and
