I, Too by Langston Hughes (1926)
Published during the height of the Harlem Renaissance, the poem portrays American racism as experienced by a black man. In the poem, white people deny the speaker a literal and metaphorical seat at the table. However, the speaker asserts that he is just as much as part of America as are white people, and that soon the rest of the country will be forced to acknowledge the beauty and strength of black people.
Poem: "I, Too" by Langston Hughes (1926)
1 I, too, sing America.
2 I am the darker brother.
3 They send me to eat in the kitchen
4 When company comes,
5 But I laugh,
6 And eat well,
7 And grow strong.
8 Tomorrow,
9 I’ll be at the table
10 When company comes.
11 Nobody’ll dare
12 Say to me,
13 “Eat in the kitchen,”
14 Then.
15 Besides,
16 They’ll see how beautiful I am
17 And be ashamed—
18 I, too, am America.
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