Let America Be America Again

Since I was educated on his history and who he was, Langston Hughes has always caught my attention. So here I have this poetry project where I have to choose an American poet from the 1900s and analyze one of their poems. So who do you think was the first to pop into my mind? Of course it was Langston. I chose this poem, "Let America Be America Again" because it really touched me the first time I read it. This poem releases a very thought-provoking message. I think that what Mr. Hughes was trying to say was that during his time, the "American Dream" did not pertain to him because he was, as labeled, a Negro. I believe that is something that we should all consider. I leave with saying that I adore this poem and Langston Hughes for his creativity and telling it like it is.

dear american gal,
you comments were very difficult to read. asan american i find it desperatelyimportant to understand the past failures of our nation, and look at them honestly. of course hughes poem is driven by a sense of malice in that he is malicious against blatant injustice, which prevailed in the black disinfranchised communities of the urban north namely his beloved new york. his cry is not a cry of damnation as you seemed so set to label it, but obiously in the title alone much less the body of work a cry for reform, for positive revolution within a society. (the most fundamental conviction of our young nation) your stance of love it or leave it is desperately lacking in its value. in practice such a principle applied exaustively as you seem to be applying it here would demand abandonment of all things that are flawed including the people we love, the jobs we hold, and the country we share. our nation is remarkable and unique in many respects, yet we have a particularly dark past for such a short life. if there is any hope of a future for the people of america it begins where langston hughes began here, at looking honestly at the problems, the crimes, the atrocities we as a nation are guilty of internally and abroad and seeking to right these overt and scaring wrongs. i hope you will reconsider your very impatient insecure and defensive comments on this very important piece of art and american history.
sincerely and humbly,
bobby
post script- the poem is most powerful when it asks "who has drawn a veil across the stars"

This poem was good but long. I think that if you would have summed it up a little better more people would read it. Like I said it was a good poem but really long. I know that I had a hard time keeping reading it only becuase of the length. You made your point and thats the great part I mean the only kind of good peom is the one witha point. You have made a good statment and it touched me. Me myself likes to write poetry and enjoyes reading it. But I am the kind of person that likes to write about death and teen troubles being a teen myself. I have been through a lot in life eventhough i am only 17 but I can tell you some horrifying things which is why your poems touched me. Its a good poem keep on writting likw this and it will take you to greater places.

This poem by Langston Hughes is one of my favorites. Like other readers, Hughes portrait of what America has been and the optomism of what it could be resonates to a greater degree every time I read it.

I am concerned about another reader's comments -- "American Gal". She claims she is a poet, so I am anticipating she is versed in poetry, writing, and "reading to get the point", yet she completely misses Langston's message. It is unfortunate she chose to offer such a short-sighted evaluation of this poem. It makes me wonder if she even understood the feelings that are being expressed and why Hughes might feel the way he does? Time? Place? Personal background?

This poem is timeless. Langston Hughes has given us a sketch of his history which is as true today as it was when originally written.

This poem has a very interesting point of view. I wonder if Langston Hughes were still alive today, if he'd still have the same point of view that he has in this poem.
To American Gal and All American Boy:
First of all before you talk please know what you're talking about.
Honey if Langston hated this country so much he probably would have moved if he could. But remember that he was a black man without rights. You can't blame him for feeling this way when he was treated like crap. This poem is how he felt during that time.
Secondly, men didn't fight for his ass, they fought for their own ass and their country. It just so happened to be that he was there at the time.
Ok then. Thats my input. I realy think america has changed though.:-)

First off, it is really sad that alot of people posting here think Langston Hughes is alive and are saying, "Hi" to him. Do some research, people! There is alot of info on the web about LH, his life, and some critical analysis of this poem.

I have to disagree that this poem applies to the US today. Especially coming from the mouths of pre-teens and teenagers--you haven't even moved out of your house yet so what do you know about the real challenges in this country besides what you hear from family, TV, and your teachers? I studied this poem among many other literary pieces while obtaining my undergraduate degree. There is alot of misunderstanding when it comes ot the reading of this piece. First of all, the American Dream, much like the City on A Hill concept, will always be an unattainable goal, an ideal that can never be realized in an imperfect world. This past weekend I witnessed a Girl Scout troop performing this as part of World Thinking Day. I was appalled as they acted out slaves being beaten and children recited these words. They do not understand the meaning. The poem is not uplifintg--it is an expression of the struggles of those from the depths of society to attain the Dream. In a capitalist society, no matter how "rich" the poor are, there will still always be a "poor" class and a Rich class. The demographics may differ but there will always be such a system in the US, unless capitalism dies. The only way that there can be equality as Hughes expressed would be in a socilaist or communist government, where there are no real social classes. It is important in criticizing any work that you consider the times in which the work was crafted, the history of the writer themselves, and so on. How can you otherwise put the work into the correct context to do an analysis?

Hey
At first I think this poem is really great. I like it even more than the German ones ;)
I also believe we should consider that it is still up-to-date. I think that the people today becomes more and more selfish with their grabbing and greed. So they do what they want without thinking of other people living around them. I don't know whether it is like this in America but I'm quite sure that there's no place all over the world where you are safe from this. I hope you see that we all make the world bad because we only wait and see without doing something. That's it what the poem made me think of and I hope that I'm not the only one because the world can be better if we do something for her and always try to help other poeple instead of thinking of our own profit from this actions.

Everyone who reads a Langston Hughes work has to keep in mind that he lived in a time when suppression of the black race was customary and the Jim Crow laws where at their peak. The time of the harlem Reinassance when 90% of black people were stuck in the south being tortured, lynched, bounded by sharecropping, and in a way still slaves in society. Growing up in a democratic government while these terrible things were happenning was all that Hughes saw. Ofcourse he would look at the cummunist governments who swear that their main agendas are equality. He was naive in this way to blame the government when so much has gone wrong. even though cummunism is terrible, langston was so blinded at the suppression of his race that he ignored the injustices, labors, and terrors of a cummunist government. His poem was beautiful. It is a story of slavery in not only America but in the world. The title may be America but it is not right to judge the US for their problems when all countries have suffered the same. The world isn't perfect, the human race is not perfect. But people like Langston Hughes can help us learn and can teach us to see the wrongs that have been committed. Only after we learn of the terrors once witnessed is when we can avoid repeating the mistakes all of humanity has made.I am usually not the biggest poetry fan but Langston was a credible poet and a great writer. Despite the controversies of the simplicity of his works.

I have been utterly shocked at some of the racist and hurtful comments on this page. In my opinion, if this poem was posted as having an anonymous author, no one would know that it was written by an African-American. Or rather, if it was publicized as being written by a white author, there would not be so many racist comments against it. THIS IS NOT a poem about black slavery or prejudice against the African-American race. Hughes specifically refers to "the poor white" and "red man" IN ADDITION to the "Negro." I think the knowledge that Hughes was an African-American himself is overriding his message in some of your minds; you automatically assume he is lashing out at the white race because he lived in a time where racial prejudice was (sadly) more rampant than it is today. Instead of concentrating solely on the racial aspects of this poem (although they are an integral part and should be considered in analyzing this work) try to see what else Hughes is trying to get across. I agree with JenPP on the comment that the American Dream is a perfection that we as a country will never attain. I think that Hughes sees that; the main message is that we, as a UNIFIED society, regardless of race or status, should do our best to ATTEMPT to achieve what we claim our country to be: the "homeland of the free."

Also, as a side note to some of you who have deemed yourself poetic critics: in the world of literature, it is rude and even incorrect to label a work "good" or "bad." Yes, you reserve the right to express your feelings on how you felt about the work, such as saying,"I didn't like the way he said this," or "I love the use of allusion here." But to consider yourself powerful enough to deem an artist's work "good" or "bad" as though you have the final word on what is or what isn't is ridiculous; you are giving yourself false power. Art is never "good" or "bad." It just IS. It is your INTERPRETATION and the impact that it had on you that is either positive or negative.

I remember reading this once to my class back in 2002. I had to capture the emotion of this poem, and be able to say it (or in certain parts, shout) as if I meant it.

I remember one thing that went through my mind back then, and it still does now. This poem can be applied to what we have today. America has forgotten what it was originally about, and at this rate, it will never remember. When the first settlers landed here to colonize, they travelled seeking freedom. Freedom from oppression, and persecution. They wanted the freedom to rule themselves, to be able to practice their religion(s) without being persecuted by anyone against them. Overall, they wanted to be free from being controlled, and a chance to be equal to one another.

This was the original concept of the American Government; a government ruled by all of the people. Where a person can come and be just like everyone else. Instead, we have a country where the rich make the rules, and a government that caters to them. To those of us in the US, take a look around. Take a look at how everything seems to revolve around those who have and control the money, how the government can do almost anything as they please, and how the others suffer for everything they do.

Read this poem again, and again, and again. Close your eyes, and imagine yourself in his place. Take a glimps of the world from his eyes, and you'll understand a bit of what he has written.

ok seriously this is truth...to all of the ignorant racists who have been leaving comments on this poem just go ahead and shoot yourselves in the face...langston hughes had one of the greatest literary minds that this country has ever known and he was able to publish and receive praise for this and other poems at a time when he and other people of differnt races and relgions were being greatly oppressed. you all think of this poem as if it were written today where many of you obviously believe that america has no more problems dealing with race. you have to realize that this poem was written during a time period where this was one of the biggest problems our country faced and for african americans, latinos, indians, immigrants, and other races, it was their whole life. what else did he have to write about? even if he wrote this poem today, it would still be incredible because, regardless to what the racists commenting on this poem believe, there still is a problem with race. yes, our country still has racial issues. i dont know what beverly hills country club community you all grew up in but it does exist.

The main idea of this poem is equality for all. And true, at the time this poem was written, America was going through a phase of intense discrimination. Looking back at those times, America has improved, but the foundation of which this country was built on, cannot and does not want to accept the success of minorities, rather white people. It is true, and admit it, white people are better off with more benefits, ex: Hurricane Katrina. The example is not the point here. Fact is Fact. White people are dominant. Those other than whites, are considered minorities and treated like minorities. Our only way to success is to pave our way through. Don't matter whether there be snakes lashing at you on the road. Look straight forward and go towards your goal. Never give up under any circumstances. Those above you will just laugh and say, "see, i told you." Never ever let those above you look down on you. Never work towards making people look towards you, but instead work your best, be number 1 in all you do, and eventually people will hold you in respect, benefits will come, and you in turn can help those in the situation you were in before your success began.

I've really enjoyed this poem and I think of Langston as one of the greatest Americans of the last century. The Portion where the poet says "And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?" reminds me of a point in W.E.B. DuBois' The Souls of black folk when DuBois is speaking of when he is a child and a 'veil' is drawn over his face, he finds out as a child that he is somehow lesser than other humans in his country and belongs to an inescapable & perpetual lower caste. His heart is broken and a bit of innocence is seemingly lost. This is the true cry of my soul as an American, I have a mixed heritage like Mr. Hughes had & perhaps that contributes to this. I see this poem as a dream of a greater America, one where college campuses are no longer cold and numbing, freedom is real, racial and caste colonial ideas are done away with, and all people are truly equal.

Huges' poem will continue to resonate until his dream of a "land where every man is free" is realized. If you cannot see the very same ills in America today that are written about in this poem from 1938, then you have not been paying attention. Does every child in this great land have access to decent heal-thcare? Is anyone going to bed hungry tonight? Can each of us truly express who we are in public without fear of reprisal?

“Every” means both “each” and “all” and unless we can show that each of us is free: free from hunger, free from poverty, free from discrimination; then all of us are diminished. If the American experiment fails, it will be because we were afraid to root out injustice. It will happen if we are afraid to live up to our ideals.

The voice in this poem that points out the inequality and inconsistencies in the American “dream” is not simply whining about the treatment of African-Americans. The tendency to link this poem solely to the African-American plight is a disservice to both Hughes and America. Seldom do we wish to hear that we are not living up to expectation. It is easy to marginalize the downtrodden until your “unalienable rights” are stepped on.

This poem speaks to me of our need to work together, our wish to eradicate injustice, and our belief that what the Declaration of Independence states should be realized.

America has problems, many of them deep-seated. She also has a great many greathearted citizens. Huges gives us a rallying cry, a call to become part of the solution. If you can’t hear his plea, perhaps you are part of the problem.

I often introduce myself as a person of no specific ethnic or national background... calling myself a "Universal". When asked where i'm from I usually reply "from a land yet to be discovered" so, what Hughes wrote in his poem resonates with everything that I am about. Add to this the fact that I am of African descent. I agree that this 'nation' of ours has been a fraud for all of its history, making grandiose claims of being a 'melting' pot where the profits of democratic freedom erases the divisions of race, nationality,religion, and so forth.
Really? The ways this country has failed in profiting all of its citizens are too numerous to count whereas, the ways it has are easily counted. Things now are coming to a head; the democratic experiment is starting finally to sag under its own ponderous mass like a tower too tall with too shallow a foundation. A massive collapse is imminent and much of the world will collapse with it, unfortunately.
I agree and reach these conclusions not merely from my own veiwpoint but from that of humanity itself being an avid student of all histories-I've educated myself in the histories of many nations: Rome, Greece, Russia, China, Japan, Europe, Northern AFrica, America, Canada... And every year I add more to the list. I wont stop till I can no longer read a book! Why? because I believe that the story must include all sides; not only the point of view of the Victors.
If America today can't be remade, remodelled, and reformed to what it should always have been, let it be recycled to create what should be!
Question is: can a true utopia ever be as long as profit is God? Can it ever be as long as men are corrupted by power? Can it ever be as long as party loyalty holds more wieght than talent and creativity?

Put One More s in the U.S.A.

To make it Soviet.

One more s in the U.S.A.

Oh, we’ll live to see it yet.

Good-morning, Revolution:

You’re the very best friend

I ever had.

We gonna pal around together from now on.

Listen, Revolution,

We’re buddies, see—

Together,

We can take everything:

Factories, arsenals, houses, ships

Railroads, forests, fields, orchards,

Bus lines, telegraphs, radios

(Jesus! Raise hell with radios!)

Steel mills, coal mines, oil wells, gas,

All the tools of production,

(Great day in the morning!)

Everything—

And turn ‘em over to the people who work.

Rule and run ‘em for us people who work.

By Langston Hughs - communist - In 1932 he spent a long stretch in the Soviet Union, especially in the eastern parts.