We Shall Overcome!!!
The Harlem Renaissance (first named the New Negro Movement) was a cultural movement that was relevant in the 1920s. it was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, however, many French-speaking black writers from African and Caribbean colonies who lived in Paris were involved in this movement. Since the Harlem Renaissance was dated in a time period of racial segregation, social oppression, and the Great Depression, many poets produced pieces that were based on the uprising of the African-American race to importance in America, as well as living through a poverty stricken society. Famous Poets: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Jessie Fauset & Claude McKay
Breakdown.
This poem was basically about the wall of segregation being broken down over time, and He(Hughes) represents the black race.
Hughes starts off them poem by saying
"I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen"
This is symbolic for the segregation that African Americans went through during this time. While the Whites "ate at the table"(at the top of the social hierarchy), Since he was the "darker brother"(black), he would be forced to eat in the kitchen, which symbolized inequality between the races.
Then he says
"But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. " ,
which could stand for getting educated, or becoming a more outstanding figure in society over time.
And finally, he states,
"Tomorrow, I'll be at the table
When company comes
Nobody'll dare Say to me, 'Eat in the kitchen,'"
This set of lines represents racial equality. Since he is now at the table, African-Americans is now equal with the other with the other races, and since the social hierarchies are now irrelevant, nobody will tell him to eat in the kitchen(oppress him) again.
Hughes starts off them poem by saying
"I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen"
This is symbolic for the segregation that African Americans went through during this time. While the Whites "ate at the table"(at the top of the social hierarchy), Since he was the "darker brother"(black), he would be forced to eat in the kitchen, which symbolized inequality between the races.
Then he says
"But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. " ,
which could stand for getting educated, or becoming a more outstanding figure in society over time.
And finally, he states,
"Tomorrow, I'll be at the table
When company comes
Nobody'll dare Say to me, 'Eat in the kitchen,'"
This set of lines represents racial equality. Since he is now at the table, African-Americans is now equal with the other with the other races, and since the social hierarchies are now irrelevant, nobody will tell him to eat in the kitchen(oppress him) again.
Literary Devices.
".....I, too, am America." - I feel as if this line is a bit of a cliche because i feel like that it changes from its original meaning. The first sentence, as well as the title of the poem was "I, Too, Sing America" which probably meant the he was singing for equality. By the end of the poem, equality was granted, and the line probably changed to " I, Too, am America" because of this.