In the early twentieth century, the Harlem Renaissance flourished. This movement was an African American cultural awakening, especially in the creative arts. The movement was never controlled by a specific school of thought but distinguished through discourse and laid the groundwork for later African American literature. While much of the movement concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City it was not confined there. Many African American musicians, artists, and writers blossomed as instigators for this cultural awakening, like Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, and of course Langston Hughes to name a few (Hutchinson, p.1).
Langston Hughes was a pioneer of contemporary African American literature. His work, Montage of a Dream Deferred, is comprised of several poems which read as one, centered mainly on the African American community in post World War II Harlem. The overarching motif is of the dream deferred, which was Hughes’ way of responding to racial oppression in America. The dream deferred refers to how there is the American dream, which
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Within Judaism, in the school of thought of Kabbalah, there is a belief that red string can protect one from the evil eye. People “possessed” by the evil eye carry them jealousy and destructive force. The string acts like a shield against these forces that may try to destroy us and instead bring good fortune. This addition alludes to a hopeful blessing because I find that as long as the issues that divide us are discussed and acknowledged there is always a spark for change. Hughes also writes with this sort of aspiration despite the painful realities he captures with lines like, “early blue evening. Lights ain’t come on yet. Look Yonder! They come on now!” (p.394). In Japan red strings are part of a folklore that everyone has it tied to their pinky which connects to another person. This imagery ties to the idea of interconnected lives that Hughes touches