The negro artist and the racial mountain - Essay Example

Response to Langston Hughes’ The Negro Artist and The Racial Mountain Langston Hughes lived in a generation whereby discrimination against others along racial lines was unconcealed and in its raw form. Nevertheless, he embraced his heritage despite the denigrating relationships between the black and white communities in the country. He stood up for his culture and his people with his work focusing on educating both communities of their value despite the racial differences between the two communities.

Then and now, America wants to make everyone the same despite their differences in experiences, culture, and history, which is called standardisation. It is a case of one size fitting all, which has become part of the country’s practices. However, the black community is fortunate since it escapes and escaped standardisation during the time when there were thawing racial relations. Nonetheless, a category of the black community wanted to be part of the American standardisation by engaging in various activities and practices that could resonate with the white community in order to belong.

This is indicative of people failing to focus on their inner beauty and instead learning to feel ashamed of their history and racial heritage.The essay resonates with the contemporary African-American society in which brainwashed black American communities think that only a particular image is acceptable. However, this image is against the roots and culture of the community with individuals being required to discover themselves and free their minds in order to defend their identity while at the same time being proud for whom their identity.

Work CitedHughes, Langston. “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain (1926).” Modern American Poetry. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar. 2014. .