Interacial America

            "As a writer who believed it was his vocation to "explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America," Hughes captured the experience as "the hurt of their lives, the monotony of their jobs, and the veiled weariness of their songs."" (DiYanni 523) Hughes however does not resent the fact that he is African American; in reality the contrary is true, he carries an immense pride in his cultural heritage. However, many of his poems express a longing for the two races to combine forming one attuned nation. The prevalent message Hughes is conveying to his audience is this: Do not seek to conform to society, instead do your best to stay true to your heritage and in doing so carve out a niche in humanity where you feel at ease. One can view these ideals in some of Hughes most celebrated, as well as some of his lesser known poetic works. .
             "My People" is perhaps one of the easiest poems in which one can identify the respect Hughes holds for the African American race. The poem is composed of three couplets. Structurally, the first two couplets mirror each other, beginning with a celestial body in the first line and moving on to describe a human feature in the second. The last couplet however, has a different arrangement. It starts with a descriptive word then attributes it to a particular noun. Within this poem, the word beautiful is used repeatedly in conjunction with the word people. The first couplet compares the dark yet beautiful night to his peoples" faces. The next shows that just as the stars illuminate the night sky, his peoples" eyes also light up their faces. In the final couplet, Hughes says this, "Beautiful, also, is the sun. /Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people." (DiYanni 527 lines 5-6) Throughout the entire poem, Hughes is using the sky as a metaphor for an African American. The night sky which is like the backdrop of space is equivalent to the face of a Negro. Likewise the stars could be considered the nights "eyes" which portray the human eyes.