I, Too, am America -- Langston Hughes

1924 In a letter to his friend Alain Locke, African-American poet, novelist, playwright Langston Hughes (1902 - '67) wrote, "I've done a couple of new poems. I have no more paper, so I'm sending you one on the back of this letter."

The poem, 'I, Too', which refers to Walt Whitman's famous extolling of America, was published two years later and is among his most famous.

'I, Too'
By Langston Hughes

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed –
I, too, am America.

Categories: america, literature, poetry, racism