After reading “Let America Be America Again”, it is observed that Langston Hughes vividly paints images of contrast between the perspective of America held by minority groups and white Americans. Langston Hughes was raised to believe that his coming to America would be filled with endless opportunity for prosperity. That is what everyone believed America would be upon entering. The word ‘America’ sparked a passion within anyone and everyone who had a desire for freedom and distance from the British monarchy, or any other form of government that gave the majority of its population the least amount of power. Hughes wrote in the second full stanza that America was a place “where never kings connive, nor tyrants scheme, that any man be crushed by one above.” Originally America was discovered and covered by people who desired to escape British rule, but slowly became a beacon of hope for all who felt oppressed by abusive authorities above them.
As the poem progresses, an overwhelming sense of discomfort begins to surround the reader. Especially for readers living in America today knowing what this country is built on and what it has gone through. In between the first, second, third, and fourth stanzas, Hughes interrupts the proud sounds of the American dream (to the white Americans) with the harsh reality of what America really meant to anyone in minority to the white American population. As Hughes states, “there’s never been equality for me, nor freedom in this ‘homeland of the free’.” From the first footsteps onto American soil, African Americans and so many others have felt immediate displacement and abuse, tarnishing any minorities hopes and ideas of the so-called ‘American Dream’ for years to come. Even those Native Americans who inhabited the land before our founding fathers for many years were instantly pushed to the wayside for abuse and labor. “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— and finding only the same old stupid plan, of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” In this poem, Langston Hughes is able to recognize the perspectives of not only African Americans, but those of all races, minority groups, etc. These comparisons take no time to diminish the hopeful image of America that was once intended to be advertised. There was never a free America to those who were not white.
In reference to the desire of people to escape forms of hierarchy, the America that had been created was ironically the exact same. Many years later democracy was brought into the picture being a government that was ‘for the people, by the people’. However there was still a form of hierarchy plaguing the nation, only it was held over those mainly with a darker complexion. The European servile nature of the African Americans was brought right to America; “I am the Negro, servant to you all.” “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.” These are statements that should make readers ears ring with anger. America was a place for change, and even when there was a recognized need for change within the nation itself, it was not addressed for many many years. One of Hughes most powerful lines representative of this: “I am the young man, full of strength and hope, tangled in that ancient endless chain, of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one’s own greed!” This entire sixth stanza encapsulates the ‘greed of the white man’, and how one man’s unsatisfiable greed for prosperity is another man’s death sentence.
The third stanza is quite representative of what America was always intended to be. It reads off all of the false advertisements given to the name ‘America’; “O, let my land be a land where Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, but opportunity is real, and life is free, equality is in the air we breathe.” And to contradict this perspective of America, Hughes not only has lines in between these stanzas as interruption, but also includes an interesting line towards the middle of the poem, “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart.” This, to me at least, was a perfect contrast to the strong, powerful image of the predominant white Americans. As men rose to power in the nation and began to take control, even the white population was segregated and put into feud through job classes, political parties, and hatred. America was never fully what is was intended to be.
So with that, I leave two questions to think about:
- Why do you think racism and oppression has continued in our society, even today, despite all of the evidence of its unforgivable nature?
- How does the repetition within the structure of the poem develop the overall disposition of “Let America Be America Again”?
Works Cited:
Hughes, Langston. “Let America Be America Again.” Poets.Org, Academy of American Poets, 3 Feb. 2021, poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again.
This writing is extremely compelling and well written, Alexandra! I entirely agree that America did not fundamentally alter after the American Revolution, even though it was liberated from Great Britain’s control. Ironically, even though Americans strived for freedom and independence, not everyone could really benefit from the new America and its principles. Specifically, individuals of color. Hughes highlights this point in lines 15–16 when he says, “there’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free”. Here, he draws attention to the reality that colonists endured harsh treatment, had very little control over their own lives, and were not accorded the same rights as British citizens as a whole when they were ruled by Great Britain. Following its independence, America under its own federal government was no different with its very own people. With the exception of white people gaining rights, freedom, promise, and hope, nothing changed in America for colored people. In the end, all they gained from their successful fight for independence was worse treatment at the hands of their own nation’s government.
I agree with your viewpoint on this piece overall and believe this is a very well written explanation depicting many emotions and an overall message. I too believe that Langston Hughes describes how hard it is to be a minority in a land that was promised to be everything. I believe Hughes’ repetition, although in different variations, of him stating, “America never was America to me” really emphasizes his point that the promise land of freedom and prosperity was not only derived from him, but as well as anyone else who was not of a white skin color. I believe he truly pulls the reader in between stanzas to reiterate the overall fact of segregation at hand. Looking at the piece as a whole, as a reader I experienced many emotions ranging from hatred for the people who endured these harsh circumstances, to the thought of empowerment that these people are willing to take a stand in order to make things right.
Hi Alexandra, I really loved how you found the deeper meaning behind Hughes message of how all minority groups have been pushed aside and have not gotten the same level of respect as the white Americans. I always think its important to not only think of your culture background but of others as well so you can also recognize each others challenges and find a connection. Especially when he also adds the segregation between the white and the wealthy. To answer your first discussion question, I think there is still racism and oppression in our society today because people are afraid of change. People also don’t want to admit our history and how their ancestors were the slave owners and wealthy men who spit and hurt women and children. They don’t want to see the minority groups rising above to show that even with all the challenges against them as a colored or poor person that they can preserve. As Hughes said in the poem, “The land that never has been yet—And yet must be—the land where every man is free.
The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—
Who made America,Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,Must bring back our mighty dream again.” Hughes knows that people are afraid to admit that America was built on the minority groups backs to make it look like the American Dream is real, but really it’s fake news.
Alexandra, this was a well written and thought out explanation of your viewpoint of ‘Let America Be America Again’. I 100% agree with everything you stated and respect how you added so much detail and evidence to your claim. Reading ‘Let America Be America Again’ I had strong emotions and relatability to Hughes, him stating “America was never America to Me” resonates with me because black people were not free in America. colored people were still being treated unfairly. It was the ‘Land Of The Free’ until everyone, not only black people but immigrants, were free to, and were treated equal. Hughes also mentioned how black men would work so hard to and would not get anything in return, black people would get pay less because of they color of their skin, white people would take advantage and not give credit when it’s due to people of color/immigrants.
Hi Alex! This was a really interesting blog post! I found how you connected the poem to today’s world a good representation to show how the issues in the poem are once again issues now. To answer one of your discussion questions, I think that the repetition shows his overall meaning of disappointment and what he wants for the future in America. He shows his disappointment in what he believes the future will be like for America, almost foreshadowing how he knew the world would turn out. In the poem he constantly repeats the phrase “America never was America to me” and changes his wording as the poem goes along, but keeps the same meaning to his phrases. I think this shows that he wants to be included in a world where everyone is equal and everyone gets along, but realistically he knows the way for this to happen is going to take a longer time because it would include fixing the nation as a whole. I personally found your last sentence to be my favorite one, “America was never fully what it was intended to be”. I think that sentence tied together exactly what I got from the poem, and including how segregated we’ve become to now being broken down into even more groups through politics and jobs, it further proves Hughes point in how the American Dream will never work.
How does the repetition within the structure of the poem develop the overall disposition of “Let America Be America Again?”
Alexandra, what an insightful, well written blog post. I thought that your inclusion and reference to the current American readers of Langston Hughes’s “Let America Be America Again.” I thought your reference of these readers’ uncomfortableness in this critical address of minority oppression highlighted the emotions that we (as readers of the present) feel when we read this poem. Emotions like guilt, anger, disappointment, and a sense of accountability are just a few of many that readers feel when reading this poem; a poem that highlights our country’s failure of the American dream that we are supposed to be built upon. To answer your question, “How does the repetition within the structure of the poem develop the overall disposition of “Let America Be America Again,” I believe the repetition of the theme that America does not belong to Hughes strengthens and builds a disposition that speaks for not only Hughes, but for many minorities in our country that they have been failed. To quote the poem, “The Free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today…The millions who have nothing for our pay—Except the dream that’s almost dead today.” In my opinion, Hughes is causing an uproar of these emotions with repeated, intense questioning; these emotions necessary to empathize with those who have been failed by the American dream. The questioning; the interrogation, of freedom certainly highlights, and gives the poem its lasting effect on an American reader today.
Hi Alexandra, I loved reading your thoughts and takeaways on “The American Dream Through Langston Hughes”. The information you gave us about Hughes’ perspective of America while providing a great supporting lines on his stance really helped deepen my understanding of the reading. A quote that really stood out to me was “America never was America to me”. This is vital because this is what the poem is really about and you can tell by how many other phrases from Langston are coming from the same feelings as that quote. The way you were able to highlight how a lot of these problems are reoccurring nowadays made me think a lot about how we have been hearing a lot of similar stuff Langston talks about. Overall great work!
I really enjoyed reading your post. It is very descriptive and provides good insight into a lot of the thoughts going on throughout the piece. I specifically liked when you stated, “desire of people to escape forms of hierarchy, the America that had been created was ironically the exact same.” You did a great job talking about how the oppressed would seek refuge in America, only to find more oppression and discrimination. The quote that you referenced, “I am the negro bearing slavery’s scars” was also very powerful and moving. Overall, this was very well written and a really good read. I would like to answer the first question you asked. Unfortunately, I think racism still exists today simply because some people decide to discriminate or look down on other races because of superficial differences such as where you’re born or the color of your skin. I believe this correlates with the lack of emotional, and general intelligence as well as compassion and failure from parents and peers to teach otherwise.
Hi Alexandra! Great blog post, it was very thorough and well-written. I completely agree with your post. I found the point you mentioned about the reader to feel uncomfortable to be very interesting. While reading this passage, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted, ashamed, guilty and uncomfortable. The discomfort begins as the poem states the inequalities, oppression and unfair treatment in America. The poem encourages the reader to explore how cruel the treatment truly is especially for those of different races. Personally, stanza four stood out to me, it states “I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” These lines recognize how necessary social change is. It clearly shows the struggles people faced and continue to face today. It is heartbreaking to know that America does not have the same definition for everyone. To answer your question- I feel that racism and oppression continues in our society today despite all of the evidence of its unforgivable nature because it is normalized. I feel like people lack accountability and do not stand up against issues that do not directly impact them.Therefore, change has yet to occur. It is crucial that people be aware and educated in order for there to be change.
Hello Alexandra the blog post that you wrote was very good. I love the approach that you have taken towards the history of this country. What caught my attention the most was when you mentioned the way America is advertised. I agree with this 100 percent. Most people apart from this nation believe that the U.S. is a great country to live in. It is do not get me wrong but it also has its cons most do not see that which you point out and I believe that is very important to remember. Why? Because it is a reminder to most of us that a change is needed to be done. To answer your questions, I am not exactly sure why racism is still a topic that we need to discuss. The reason I say this is because we are all equal and believe me it hurts that people still think like this in today’s world or any timeline.
Hey Alexandra, I really enjoyed reading your post and seeing your take on this. I found myself very much aligning with all the ideas you touched on in your post. I would like to attempt to answer your first question about why racism and oppression are still things we see today even though we all see the horrible things they have caused and the horrible things they are in general. I feel like in order to answer this, it has to be looked at will a philosophic mindset. We have seen that no matter who we are or where we come from, it would seem to be human nature to categorize. With this we see the creations of groups or cultures. But what takes it to the point of oppression and racism is the other human nature of pride. We when split ourselves into groups based on whatever attributes, we don’t want our group to be considered worse than another, so we act like we are better than the other groups. I think this is one of the main reasons we have come to know things like oppression and racism. I would also like to bring in a quote from the other poem we read by Hughes “Theme for English B”. That quote is “Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me. / Nor do I often want to be a part of you. / But we are, that’s true!”. This quote shows Hughes looking past the force of human nature and seeing that behind all these groups we have created, we are all the same. We might not like it because of the rivals and stereotypes we have made up in our head, but it’s true. I think the more people learn to look past their human nature, however hard that may be, we might see more of a shift away from oppression and themes of racism.
Hi Alexandra!
I really enjoyed reading your post and greatly appreciated the way in which you oriented your reflection and your analysis of Hugues’ poem. The points that you analyzed are in my opinion the essential points of this text and I am in complete agreement with you when you develop your reflection on the author’s vision concerning the “American dream”.
I would now like to try to answer, in few words, one of your questions, namely the following : « Why do you think racism and oppression has continued in our society, even today, despite all of the evidence of its unforgivable nature? ».
Firstly, I would tend to say that racism and oppression persist due to systemic inequalities deeply ingrained in society. As Hughes’s poem suggests, the promise of equality and justice for all has often been hollow with marginalized communities continually denied their rights and dignity. This point can be supported with the following author’s quote : « There’s never been equality for me, nor freedom in this « homeland of the free », which well depicts the lack of uniqueness in equality and freedom, and which, unfortunately, supports the discrimination of its own people, namely people who are not white. Despite evidence of its harm, entrenched power structures and biases perpetuate these injustices, necessitating ongoing efforts to dismantle them and create a truly equatable society. Additionally, ignorance, fear and prejudice often fuel discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, making it challenging to eradicate racism and oppression entirely. Indeed, Hugues supports this point by submitting within his poem the fact that he felt sidelined from society, the same society in which he participates in the construction « The free? Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? ». To conclude, I will say that racism and the oppression of people of color are still present, even if an effort has still been made, and that this racism will not cease until the prejudices and bad ideas received from the past will not be erased from everyone’s minds.
Wonderful morning we’re having isn’t it Alex? Well I liked how you analyzed the poem giving each part its individual breakdown enabling me to be able to see the poem in a new way. As for your questions I think that there are very evident explanations to why racism still impedes our day to day lives. This is because of the culture and what the country was built off of. When building this country, it was built off of the backs of slaves and that is what it became. Once you go down that road it is hard to then turn back and change people’s outlooks on it. As well as the idea that people don’t just change overnight. And they fight for what will benefit them. And if the slaves are benefiting them, they will keep going off of them. Hughes is hoping that the main ideas are based on freedom and equality for all. The main reason the country was made the way it was, can be rectified and we would all move forward.
Hi Alexandra,
I agree with your statement about how Langston Hughes was painting an image of what America looks like on paper vs what it looks like in real life. The perception of the United States by its local minorities and even minorities in other countries saw America as a beacon. The hope is to start a new life not enslaved or oppressed for their race or religion. Many minorities wholeheartedly believed that America was the land of the free. Unfortunately, they found out the grass was not greener on the other side. Minority groups experienced the same or worse treatment in America for not fitting the white man’s idea of a civilized human. This quote holds so true and goes great with this poem and gives you an idea of the mindset of African American people during this time. “There’s never been equality for me, nor freedom in this ‘homeland of the free’.” The idea that America is free and everyone is free to do what they want is not true but a fantasy that America wishes to obtain one day.
I agree with a lot that you said here, Alexandra. I really liked what you said in the second paragraph about this quote, “I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek— and finding only the same old stupid plan, of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” Cause it’s true, he’s not just looking through the eyes of African Americans but of all minorities and how there was this promise that in this great country America you have hope for a better life, to be free. But very few really ever got that and as Hughes said, finding America was the same old dog-eat-dog, and mighty crushing the weak. Overall I think you did an amazing job writing this as it was so well thought out and went deeper thinking than I did when reading this poem.
Alexandra, this is a great observation of the writing. I agree that people migrated to America seeking freedom and equality, although times have changed. People came seeking jobs and more leniency within their lifestyles, although America has failed to fulfill those concerns. Going along with one of your discussion questions, why racism and oppression have carried on within our society today. I believe that within society and the different roles/classes have had a very large impact on that. Those who have a more “easy going” way of life and don’t have many of the struggles others may face can cause a fine line of disagreement and political choices also play a large role in this, people’s political views can easily define what they believe in within society, therefore if someone grows up within a family that has a set mindset on race, those beliefs and interpretations may carry on throughout generations.This is somewhat illustrated within the lines 15–16 when he says, “there’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free”. This line from the text can illustrate the point of view from those of color who came to America looking for a fresh start but were immediately brutally labeled with false/ hurtful generalizations that were much harder to fight against when there was very little help on their side for the fight for justice. Overall I think you had a great interpretation of this poem and found the deeper meanings within the writing.
Hi Alexandra, your blog post was very well written! Your decripstions on many emotions and the overall message was very clear and understandable. For Langston Hughes it was hard for him being a minority in a world that was supposed to be full of all these opportunities and a great life, you did a good job of explaining what he was feeling during that time. This quote that Langston Hughes says, “There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.” Really shows how much the promise than land was a lie for him, He never felt like he could be himself nor have the freedom everyone else had. The repetition within the poem “let America be America” shows that he just wanted the land to be as Americans painted the picture of it to be and not how it was for him. Langston Hughes’ poem showed many different emotions of how he was feeling towards the promised land known as America and I believe that is what made this poem even more powerful.