Langston Hughes Troika

Let America Be America Again, Open Letter to the South , Harlem

I was only briefly introduced to Hughes' work in the 5th grade but after reading these three poems, I can now fully understand and appreciate why he is the most celebrated African American writer of his time. The saying "you write what you know" proves to be very true in all of Hughes' works. America and Open Letter are both deep poems about the need and want for equality among races and more importantly equality for all people in America. In America, he repeats the phrase "i am the..." followed by a certain occupation or race. This repetition draws the reader in and really makes you proud of this man for wanting such lofty things for America especially for his day and age. For example at the end of Open Letter, he writes "White worker,/Here is my hand./Today,/We're Man to Man." This no doubt had some controversy surrounding it back then because it was so unthinkable to have a black man even want to befriend a white man. But the way Hughes writes and the vocabulary he uses, the reader can feel his voice saying these words and it makes you want to keep reading, if not these poems then any of his other works. He even denounces a prominant member of his own race, Booker T. Washington for saying "seperate as the fingers" referring to blacks and whites. The most important line of all 3 poems, I believe, Is in America, "The steel of freedom does not stain." I found it very inspiring and really brought the poem together.
The poem that most people my age are probably familiar wih is Harlem, known to many as A Dream Deferred. This poem speaks volumes of the struggles African Americans were going through during the civil rights movement. The poem is short and to the point but it packs a lot of history into 11 lines. The most powerful line is no doubt the italicized last line "or does it explode?". Now depending on your mood, this could be taken very negatively or it can be seen as an inspiration. This was written when Hughes was almost 50 so he has pretty much found his niche in life, so it's interesting to read a poem about dreaming big and wondering where those unused dreams go.
I think Hughes was a stepping stone for every poet or story teller out there because he pushed peoples buttons and inspired so many other people with his words.