LEARNING TOGETHER: The Story of America
I, Too
by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.
Noteworthy Fact(s):
- Langston Hughes wrote The Negro Speaks of Rivers at age 17.
- He was the creator of jazz poetry, such as The Weary Blues.
- In 1932, Hughes along with other Black artists went to the Soviet Union to create a film about life as a Black American living in the South. It was titled Black and White. The project was never completed.
- He was called poet of the people or the people’s poet because of his honest portrayal of Black life in America.
OUR HISTORY MATTERS
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