How Did Langston Hughes Write I Too

Langston Hughes’ poem “I, Too” from 1925 reflects on the humiliation African Americans were tired of experiencing during the Harlem Renaissance; however, Hughes also ignites hope by looking forward towards a better future, free of this oppression. Hughes begins with a blunt proclamation of inclusion for patriotism, “I, too, sing America” (1090). He, as well as the rest of blacks, is an American who can sing along to a patriotic tune, regardless of the national prejudice. However, within the next stanza the irony of this united country becomes apparent. Hughes alludes to how the whites still refuse to even eat in the same room as blacks when he says, “They send me to eat in the kitchen” (1090). Despite the country being free of slavery, African Americans were still subjugated into a social construct that paralleled …show more content…
By pointing out this ridiculous custom, Hughes captures the motivation African Americans had during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was led by intelligent African Americans who were, “disgusted by American race prejudice” (Loeffelholz 708). Such prejudice created an inferiority stereotype towards African Americans, which believed that African descent automatically led to being stupid. Nevertheless, Hughes is bold enough to challenge prejudice by showing his intellect through his works. He is not to be jeered at like the Sambo comics that the country has stereotyped his people into. Although Hughes’ succumbs to the commands of the oppressors in the second stanza, the third stanza embodies his hope for the country. Hughes looks towards the future where, “Nobody’ll dare say to me, ‘Eat in the