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Negro Summary
The poem opens with the statement, "I am a Negro," and proceeds through a series of simple statements of identification. The poet identifies himself as a slave, a worker in Ancient Egypt, a worker in modern New York City, a singer in Africa, a singer in Georgia, a victim in the Congo, and a victim in Mississippi. The poet concludes saying that he is black like the night and like the depths of Africa.
Negro Analysis
Even more than "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," this poem is an explicit statement of pride in the face of long-endured suffering. In "Negro," Hughes calls attention to the continuing systematic oppression of black people by equating their plight with the plight of slaves and by showing an arc of continuity from Africa to Mississippi. The poem, however, is more than a comment on slavery or the...
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This section contains 355 words (approx. 1 page at 400 words per page) |
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