Harlem

“La raza! / Méjicano! / Español! / Latino! / Chicano! / Or whatever I call myself / I look the same / I feel the same / I cry / And / Sing the same. / I am the masses of my people and / I refuse to be absorbed. / I am Joaquín” (Gonzales, 1969). These powerful words were taken from Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales’s, poem “I am Joaquin”, which revolutionized the definition of “Chicano” in the late 1900’s. Although many are challenging the traditional definition of Chicano social identity as it was seen…

“What happens to a dream deferred?”(Hughes, line 1). Hughes’ poem asks the question of what unknown ways a dream will decay. The title of the book A Raisin in the Sun was named after one of Hughes questions. He asks if a dream will dry up like a raisin in the sun. The book A Raisin in the Sun features many distinct characters with their own ideologies and ambitious dreams. These characters would be Walter Lee Younger, Beneatha Younger, and Ruth Younger. A raisin drying up in the sun describes…

As a result of the multitudes of eye-opening written works describing the African American plight, modern day society has become more progressive and determined to fight for racial equality. By recounting the persecution of African Americans, the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Maya Angelou’s autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” contribute to the quest for equal rights. Moreover, these pieces of literature share a central idea as they both focus on the African American…

The Chicano Civil Rights Movement was a movement that took off in the 1960’s which was also when the civil rights movement was in full motion through out the united states. With increased political activity from African American groups to produce much needed change as well as the implantation of the civil rights act of 1964 its easy to see why the Chicano Movement flourished. The 1960’s was a time of political activism which helped move forward the goals of not only African Americans and Mexican…

Past and Present Racial Issues Whether it is a drama, poem, or short story, all literature that is written has a main idea, or theme. Sometimes, literature will have a common theme. Two poems with a similar theme about race are “La Migra” by Pat Mora and “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall. A short story that focuses on the same theme is the short story “Big Black Good Man” by Richard Wright. These different poems and short stories share a similar theme of race which is a current theme that…

Beauford Delaney, born in Tennessee in 1901, was an influential Abstract Expressionist artist that worked in New York City until relocating to Paris after World War 2 where he earned the title of “dean of American Negro painters living abroad.” He was even an inspiration to writers like Henry Miller and James Baldwin who described him as being “much admired for the jazzy urgency of both representational and abstract compositions.” Delaney’s paintings started out to be mainly portraits and street…

Merely alluding to the economic problems that cause widows to work late shifts and parents to leave unemployed teenagers unsupervised, Langston Hughes focuses on the universal power of love and trust in "Thank You, M'am." Hughes portrays the nobility of common people and the vitality of his African American culture in his works. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, whose name ironically recognizes both slavery codes of the founders of the United States and the dignity of the common people, gives…

James Mercer Langston Hughes was a famous poet in America who was also known to be a, novelist, social activist, columnist from Joplin, Missouri and playwright artist. James was one of the earliest innovators of Jazz poetry which during his time was known as then-new literary form. Hughes is particularly known for his colorful, insightful portrayals of black life in America from the 1920’s through to the 1960’s. He wrote short stories, plays, novels and as well as poetry. James graduated from…

Poetry Explication on “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Langston Hughes's poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is about becoming free. The speaker states that he has been to several places around the world. Each one of these places progressively gets more free. This is until the speaker ends with the time when “Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans”(7). Which was the final step for African Americans and their freedom. By doing this, Hughes’s speaker implies that the African American’s journey to freedom…

Henry Tanner was an American painter and a pioneer of his era. Most notably, he is known for illustrating biblical scenes, but his artwork and career generated so much more for society. Tanner was born only 4 years after the end of the Civil War. Both of his parents literate and well educated; his father a minister, while his mother, a former slave, taught school (Henry). This was extremely progressive for this era of time. Tanner obviously heavily influenced by both his parents, was given…