Black Artist And The Race Mountain By Langston Hughes

Despite their age, gender, nationality, or color, artists are free to express themselves. The article “The Black Artist and the Race Mountain," by Langston Hughes, argues the value of black creative expression in the early 20th century. Hughes urges black artists to embrace their racial identity and use it to forge a distinct and genuine creative voice in this article as a response to the repression and suppression of black artists in society. Hughes's ideas went against prevailing conventions of his time and encouraged black artists to take charge of their artistic expression, they had a huge influence on artists of all racial and ethnic origins. “No great poet has ever been afraid of being [themself]” (Hughes, 492) which is why the author argues against the limitations, particularly the creative ones, that African People face. The essay, which became famous in the early 1900s, makes a compact but convincing case using both Hughes's own identity as an artist and his critical perceptions of US culture. the

He informs the readers about “the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America—[the] urge within the [colored] race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible.” (Hughes, 492) suggests that black artist does not have the same freedom and opportunities as their white counterparts. The pressure on African American authors to live up to the standards of white society is symbolized by the “mountain”. Hughes contends that white cultural mimicking, writing narratives that appeal to a white audience, and avoiding racial themes have been taught to black artists. They have rejected their cultural heritage and stifled their voices by doing this. The mountain represents a barrier of oppression that prevents black artists from reaching their full