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Being Black in an academic institution is a primary theme in “Theme for English B.” The speaker mentions his Blackness several times in the poem, and he notes that he is the only Black “student in [his] class” (Line 10). Even in the 21st century, this reflects the experience of many Black academics—being vastly outnumbered by students of other races. Hughes himself had a similar experience when he studied at Columbia University, where campus racism drove him to withdraw.
After leaving this predominantly white university, Hughes went on to receive several degrees from the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in America, Lincoln University. According to Lincoln University’s Langston Hughes Memorial Library website, Hughes “refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people without personalizing them, so the reader could step in and draw his own conclusions.”
One aspect of being Black in academia is combating stereotypes. For instance, when the young, Black speaker of Hughes’s poem lists the activities he enjoys, he mentions “sleep[ing]” (Line 21) but quickly follows with “read[ing]” (Line 22); this combats the stereotype that Black men are lazy.
By Langston Hughes
Children’s Rhymes
Langston Hughes
Cora Unashamed
Langston Hughes
Dreams
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Harlem
Langston Hughes
I look at the world
Langston Hughes
I, Too
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Let America Be America Again
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Me and the Mule
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Mother to Son
Langston Hughes
Mulatto
Langston Hughes
Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston
Not Without Laughter
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Slave on the Block
Langston Hughes
Thank You, M'am
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The Big Sea
Langston Hughes
The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain
Langston Hughes
The Negro Speaks of Rivers
Langston Hughes
The Ways of White Folks
Langston Hughes
The Weary Blues
Langston Hughes
Tired
Langston Hughes