20 Search results for "langston hughes"

I, too, sing America.  I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.  Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,” Then.  Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am […]

  O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath— America will be!  —Langston Hughes, Let America Be America Again   If you managed to sit through the Republican National Convention, you probably noticed their dubious mantra of “We Built It.” Of course, given that polls […]

Yesterday as I sat in the library reading “Go Tell It On The Mountain” by James Baldwin I began to reflect on the role that books have played in my life. Not just any books, but in particular African-American literature. Below is a self-reflective poem that delves into my love,hatred, and passion for the written […]

“We are conspicuous in our absence” says the democratic openly gay Senator Mark Leno. This statement is honest, but not the full story. The fight to get gay history integrated into the curriculum of schools in California is heating up.  The importance of gay history has come up before in my life as I wrote […]

This is lowbrow entertainment at its most blatant and exploitative. And that’s fine. Tyler Perry is undoubtedly a success. Great entertainers entertain their audience. But great artists challenge their audience. It’s about time Mr. Madea learned the difference.

Oh no! The folks back home will never stop smacking their lips over this one. As African American Studies grows across the nation, its scholarly diversity does not fall behind. Could white professors be added to the “things keeping Black people down” list? Possibly, but the fall of Black academia shouldn’t be instantly expected. Many […]

Langston Hughes wrote, “Let, me tell ya, chile, life for me ain’t been no crystal stair,” and I wholeheartedly agree. Life for me as a weekly blogger has been “no crystal stair.” It’s had tacks in it (i.e. People who call you a feminist bitch or dyke bitch because you see the intersectionality of Precious’ […]

Is a half-truth a whole lie? When looking back over my 6 years elementary school, 3 years of middle school, and 4 years of high school, I realized that not once did my classes teach me about any gay or lesbian figure in history. As a matter of a fact, if it is public education’s […]