You and your whole race by Langston Hughes

  The poem, “You and your whole race” by Langston Hughes is an insightful poem, written about the subjects slavery, race and poverty. Through the poem, Langston expresses the injustices of the lives of the Black people in the time of their enslavement. And as he says in the lines, “Look down upon the town in which you live/and be ashamed,” it was indeed a shame for black people at the time because of their condition and impoverish lifestyle. Hughes expresses the opinion that at that time black people should be ashamed of their poverty; of the white people and also the town in which lived in. I believe he meant that black people should be conscious of their situation and aware of the factors contributing to it.
Slavery weren’t only the oppression of one race by another but an element that created ignorance among both the black and the white race. While one race believed they were superior the other saw themselves as inferior and this ideology was passed down to children being born and raised in those atrocious circumstances. According to Hughes some black people seemed to settle with the idea that they are inferior all because of ignorance that made them believe they should be treated unequally. At that time Black people were indeed incapable of fighting for their freedom. However according to Langston Hughes, when they are able to realize and fight for their right, they can claim their freedom without any doubt.