Analysis Of The Book The Future Of The American Negro

In the book The Future of the American Negro, Booker T. Washington related that the African-Americans â€Å"only a few centuries ago†¦ went into slavery in this country pagans, that they came out Christians; they went into slavery as so much property, they came out American citizens; they went into slavery without a language, they came out speaking the proud Anglo-Saxon tongue† (24, 25). Washington’s focus was on assimilation, forging the black identity not as individuals with a proud heritage and strong sense of self, but as a productive class of laborers unified in economic contribution with a hope of garnering good favor within white America. However, Washington never saw the African-American community as second class citizens, noting that â€Å"The Negro is behind the white man because he has not had the same chance, and not from any inherent difference in his nature and desires† (27). There is a similar sentiment expressed in the Langston Hughes†™s poem â€Å"I, Too† that in due time the African-American will be recognized as equals, but the poem goes further in expressing the legitimacy of the African-American recognizing that they are not just black-Americans, but simply Americans. The poem begins and ends with a declaration from the speaker, â€Å"I, too sing America† (Hughes 1, 18) on the surface it’s evident that the speaker considers himself an American but the declaration also acts a chorus. Hughes leaves a space between this line and the first line of the following stanza.Show MoreRelatedCritical Book Analysis: The Fire Next Time. James Baldwin1144 Words   |  5 PagesCritical Book Analysis: The Fire Next Time James Baldwin is a renowned and celebrated African American writer who came to prominence during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. 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