The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

Joel Milian

                                                  The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

            Langston Hughes in this article written in 1926 describes the harsh realities that African Americans face. Hughes begins the article describing to readers what a young African American poet said to him. The poet said, “I want to be a poet – not a Negro poet.” This discouraging quotation then causes Hughes to describe the lifestyles of the African Americans dubbed with the name “Negroes” and that of the White individuals who many African Americans believed to be vastly superior to them and so wanted to be just like them. Although I am not an African American but Hispanic, I find Hughes’s words inspiring. He is embarrassed by those who wish to lose a part of their identity so that they can imitate those qualities of the common white folk. Langston Hughes as a very famous and prominent Jazz poet knew the significance of the Jazz music as a creation of the African Americans, and saw it as something that should be treasured. Ultimately Hughes makes the notion that be free to make your own decisions and having pride not shame or pity for yourself makes the individual strong and happy. The opinions and judgments of other individuals do not matter. An artist of any race, culture, religion should embrace his/her race whether or not their work primarily focuses on race. Race can still be something the artist can utilize to gain new audience members or simply to add to the uniqueness of their work.