Kelvin Then
9/1/12
Langston
Hughes, famous for his poetic masterpieces during the Harlem Renaissance,
speaks on the topic of young black poets in his era and what he called the “Racial
Mountain”. In his time, a time where African American people were finally
starting to make a statement in an ever-changing world, Hughes found it somewhat
worrisome that so much of the black youth wanted to be white. He believed that
too many black families were attempting to erase their heritage by moving
toward a “white” lifestyle. It saddens me to think that in such an amazing
point in the history of our country, some of the people responsible for this
amazingness did not want to take part in acknowledging the beautiful standards
that their own people had set. It’s hard for me to fathom that had it not been
for these people’s denial of their own culture, then maybe black poems, art,
and music would have been so much better than it already is.
Race plays a crucial role in the success and
even creation of any given work of art. Poets, musicians, and artist tend to be
extremely weary of who their audience is because certain works are meant for
different people. For example, Hughes wrote poems for black people in the 1920’s,
had his audience been white then his poetry may not have been as effective and
we may not even know who he was.
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