Reaching For Equality

The cruelty that was has been put toward one another throughout time is a shameful thing to look back on. We all look back to the days of African American slavery and are ashamed of our ancestors to be so cruel. Two pieces that reflect upon a time of despair and a hope to emerge from the darkness are, "New Song" and "I Too, Sing America" by Langston Hughes. These reflections were written in 1938 and 1925. Around this time there was a collection of African-American writers and artist that used their art to share their soul. Langston Hughes was also a part of the Harlem renaissance which was a large movement in the times of the 1920-1930's. The point of these pieces due to the time in history, was to share the feelings and messages of the soul. Not understanding the pain and suffering was a large flaw with the white community, but through these collections of writings we are still to this day able to picture what these people have went through. Personally i believe these poems have accomplished their purpose through sharing the knowledge of the times with those who read it. Without sharing the stories and emotions these problems can be overlooked through selfishness, but through sharing of emotion these problems become better known. Everyday these problems of inequality come into affect because truthfully, are we all free? Freedom is what society makes it, And as society changes its views and expectations freedom changes. This aspect matters nowadays to show that there has been worse problems and the future, not only can we use this as a reflection of our past problems but we can use this as an example to solve and eliminate problems before they start. My purpose in reading these poems is the language and connection that i can connect with. As i scanned through each line i can almost picture and feel the emotion of the writer as i read. Factors i took into consideration when choosing these pieces was, which one will i connect the most with, through poetry i believe i can connect more to the soul. This choice and process has related to my personal discovery of learning through rereading the pieces and making a connection with the writer on a level of understanding.