Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, NEGRO, by JAMES LANGSTON HUGHES


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

NEGRO, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I am a negro
Last Line: Black like the depths of my africa.
Alternate Author Name(s): Hughes, Langston
Subject(s): African Americans; Blacks - History; Negroes; American Blacks


I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black,
Black like the depths of my Africa.

I've been a slave:
Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean.
I brushed the boots of Washington.

I've been a worker:
Under my hand the pyramids arose.
I made mortar for the Woolworth Building.

I've been a singer:
All the way from Africa to Georgia
I carried my sorrow songs.
I made ragtime.

I've been a victim:
The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo.
They lynch me still in Mississippi.

I am a Negro:
Black as the night is black,
Black like the depths of my Africa.







Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net