I too, sing America

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.

By Langston Hughes



When I was a child I had a stuttering problem that was so bad I spoke to no one but my mother. Then I went to a speech therapist, who helped me to learn how to alleviate the speech impediment.She introduced me to poetry, the first poet being Langston Hughes. This poem I Too, Sing America, was the first poem I'd ever read. At the time I didn't realize how personal, how profilic the poem would be because I had not been the target of racism at that point, but I knew I loved it. And I still love it. Now I can see the message he's conveying in the poem.
This is what I tell my nephew all the time. I tell him about endurance, about overlooking people's attempts to treat him as anything less than, and to remember his strength, his intelligence, his beauty, despite attempts to make him feel otherwise.

"I, too, am America. "