In the early 20th century in America, a time of great inequality, where segregation continued to affect the lives of Black Americans, Black people were constantly reminded of their race to indicate their status in American society, which meant that Black people had to work hard to gain a social value as their heritage acted as a barrier for what they could achieve. Through his poetry, Langston Hughes displays the ways Black people were treated in America through enslavement and then segregation, which was in effect through the Jim Crow laws and legally forced Black Americans to limit what they could do in society. Langston Hughes throughout his poetry highlights his own experiences that he faced being a Black American but also emphasises what …show more content…
However, the Black speaker challenges the white speaker, which highlights how the Black person is being strong and bringing out his identity to show the white that he is not less than him by saying “black is fine.” “The [Black] Artist and the Racial Mountain” argues that Hughes “is never taught to see that beauty. He is taught rather not to see it, or if he does, to be ashamed of it when it is not according to Caucasian patterns.” This highlights that Hughes was told to be ashamed of his identity but in this power he recognised that his beauty is not nothing to be ashamed of but something to be proud of. Similarly in ‘Passing’, racism is displayed through John, Clare’s husband who says, “Oh no Nig.nothing like that with me. I know you’re no nigger, so it’s all right. You can get as black as you please, as far as I’m concerned, since I know you’re no nigger. I draw the line at that. No niggers in my family. Never have been and never will be.” This indicates that John does not like Black people as he also calls them “devils” and notices that Clare’s skin is darkening as she ages and mocks her with a racial slur. Larsen displays how much hatred and disrespect has been filled in the minds of the white, that being racist to them has become normal. Jennifer Devere Brody argues that “Passing as a work concerned with the simultaneous representation and construction of race and especially class, within a circumscribed community”, shows how Black people feel ashamed and embarrassed of their skin colour. The poem ‘Silver’ by Langston Hughes displays how Black people brought their identity out through music but also shared their pain in the music by writing their songs about stories of what they have gone through. ‘Silver’ also