Due to the fact I don't have the time this week to really "meditate" on a poem, I am posting about a poem I familiarized myself with last year. Theme for English B by Langston Hughes is a poem that has stuck with me ever since the day I read it. I feel like as if I can relate to it. Langston Hughes is the only African American student at his school, sometimes it feels that way to me. Santa Maria lacks versatility in its residence, for this reason it's not uncommon for me to feel like the only colored girl in the town. A lot of people here treat me as if I like different things and like I'm supposed to act a certain way because of the color of my skin. "I guess being colored doesn't make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races." I sometimes feel like people think that the color of my skin defines who I am. I like what I like and skin tone doesn't have a damn thing to do about it. I like what I like because I am me.
"So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, It will not be white." This quote threw me for a loop. It said a lot in ways I didn't think it would. In my eyes, I envisioned two modern companies. A black owner for one, a white owner for the other. In reality, one of the companies will have more respect than the other and it's not entirely based on skill. Statistics show that a white man will always make more than a black man. It doesn't matter how smart or successful they are. They don't fit the "white" quota, regardless of how hard they try. We live in a world where color still matters. The fact that Langston Hughes poem can still be relevant in the world I live in today is mind blowing.
No comments:
Post a Comment