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Zora Neale Hurston: The Negro Artist And The Racial Mountain

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During the period of the Harlem Renaissance, the movement of the arousing black artistic identity was spreading over time. The artistic identity involved racial pride in music, art, and poetry. George Schuyler’s article “The Negro Art Hokum” emphasized the idea that that negro art is just American art. Langston Hughes expressed his opinion through his article “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”, claiming that every art has its own beauty through the confidence of race. Zora Neale Hurston was able to accept her true colors in the article “How It Feels To Be Colored Me” when she realized the day she became colored. Schuyler, Hurston, and Hughes address the similar topic on black people in American society from a black person’s point …show more content…
Hughes wrote the essay “The Negro Artist and Racial Mountains” in 1926. Metaphorically explaining the connection between the mountain and race, he states “The road for the serious black artist, then, who would produce a racial art is most certainly rocky and the mountain is high”. Hughes compared the path to being a bumpy road and a high mountain to emphasize the difficulty black artists will have to overcome and the long expedition they had to face. In spite of the fact that he will face difficulties, he knew that it will be worthwhile fighting for African American artists to be taken seriously. Hughes believed that no matter that happened “We know we are beautiful. And ugly too”, because he is an African American who has confidence in black culture and has no fear in his flaws. He ended the essay with “We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves”. "Temple" symbolizes the foundation of the new way black culture will be seen (as highly) and the mountain represents the unyieldingness (stability) the temple will provide for future black artist. This essay reflects on his powerful pride in his culture as he is willing to face any difficult passage in order for his black people to be taken seriously like every other colored human

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