Racial Mountain

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The essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” was written by poet, Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was an American poet, as well as a columnist, essayist, dramatist and novelist, well known for his poetry, novels, plays and short stories. Hughes was also known for his jazzy style and engagement, and the way it influenced his writing, as well as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance. His work is still being recognized to this day, but he became prominent in the year of 1926, and remained on to the year of 1964. This article talks about Hughes viewpoint on a comment that was made to him, and how he perceived it. I had never heard of or read this important essay until today. However, that doesn’t necessarily surprise me. I personally believe that the reason this essay isn’t widely known outside of the literary and academic circles is because, in today’s…show more content…
I believe this is because; the main point or the most important part of the essay is was what Langston Hughes’ focus was basically on. When he made the statement that most “middle-class” African Americans have a not so secret desire to be White, I don’t think he was correct. I don’t think their goal was to ultimately be white, I just believe that in viewing the white people verses the colored, their lifestyle was in fact different, a lot different. Therefore, they shaped a lot of things around what the white people were doing because to them, that was better living. I personally don’t believe that black artists should be expected to focus their artistic efforts on Black people; however, I don’t believe they should try and be like the next race either. I believe that they should be able to explore and get their work to every race, but I also believe that there should be a certain kind of love for their own race. I don’t think they should disown it in anyway, but they should take pride in their culture and uplift and encourage their

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