Racial Pride In Zora Neale Hurston

From the time that African Americans were brought over to America, their race has delt with many years of discrimination. In the 1920's, in Harlem, New York, there was an explosion of art, culture, and social aspects of society, which came to be known as The Harlem Renaissance. An emerging author in that time period was Langston Hughes, who was known to write about African Americans and their struggles. Zora Neale Hurston was an African American writer who wrote about her dreams of becoming more than just being used as a doormat by many, and her aspirations to become somebody her mom would be proud of. ¨I too¨ by Langston Hughes and ¨How It Feels To Be Colored Me¨ by Zora Neale Hurston both examine the importance of racial pride to suggest

In Langston’s poem, he talks about how he was unwanted by the family he lives with,and how he is treated unfairly. Although he did not appreciate this unfair treatment he still stayed positive. Hughes describes a typical night in his home when he states, “ 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¨(Hughes 2-7). Here, he describes having to sit away from company, because of the color of his skin. However, he did not let this bother him. He says he abides by their rules, and eats alone, but eats well, and grows strong, showing his ambition, and pride, for his race. Hughes knew that he should not be ashamed of himself for being black, and he constantly fought for his pride and dignity. This quote signifies the themes of Hughes poems, which was that a person's race does not define them, and being black does not make them any less qualified or less American than a white person. This quote uses parallel structure when listing all of the things he does, which adds power to his statement. To conclude, Langston Hughes's poem ¨I Too¨ talked about racial pride, and never giving up for what he believed in, at the same time as giving a glimpse into how others thought of African Americans during this

In this essay, Hurston talks about her daily life struggles of being black, and how even though it was hard sometimes, she always stood tall and proud of who she was. In lines 14-15, she says, ¨The front porch might seem a daring place for the rest of the town, but it was a gallery seat to me,¨. This is describing about how when white people rode through their all black town, most people were intimidated by them, and immediately ran inside. However, Zora stood proud on her front porch, because she knew she was not doing anything wrong, and she knew that she had the right to be standing on her own property, watching others pass by. Hurston turns the negatives in her life to positive statements when she states, “ ¨It is thrilling to think—to know that for any act of mine, I shall get twice as much praise or twice as much blame. It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep¨ ( Huston 54-57). She thinks its funny that everybody is spending so much time hurting and discriminating against people of her race for no good reason, and says that it is a waste of time, where only the black people will benefit from being in the spotlight in the long run. Both of these quotes go along with the theme of of oppression,