Langston Hughes 'Poem I, Too, Sing America'

He reserves the right to call himself a true citizen of America- a country that's all about equality and freedom. Langston Hughes was often known as the the prominent poet of the Harlem Renaissance, which was the period of cultural eruption. This event took place in New York City during the 1920s, giving rise to popular jazz, African-American art, literature, and poetry. As an African-American, Hughes refused to obtain the racism that was introduced in the United States, and emphasized by his active participation in his African American community to which he belonged and loved passionately. The speaker envisioned a future in which he is no longer told what to do and is guaranteed the rights every citizen has. The poem: “I, Too, Sing America” represents modernism through his explanation of the better future that is yet to come for African Americans during an oppressive period of an American history. …show more content…
In lines 2-4, Hughes refers to the "brotherhood" as well as the treatment of all American citizens in order to display the prominence of societal racism. Although slavery had ended by Hughes’ time, racial segregation was still prominent in society. As a modernist writer, he uses comparison to demonstrate the different social classes and how him and the american family are treated differently. He brings in a sense of confidence when denying others to “say to him, Eat in the kitchen” a particularly ambitious dream to stand up for himself and to demand respect. Since racism continued to spread throughout the US in the beginning of the 20th century, Hughes’ poem illustrates a day in which all citizens will truly be equal; when whites and blacks can eat “at the table”