singing lessons

I, Too, Sing America
by Langston Hughes

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.

To our neighbours and friends,
have the happiest Martin Luther King day EVER!

the illustration is by patrick moberg.

find the poem and more from langston hughes here.

the photograph of langston hughes as a boy (c. 1912) is from here.

the photograph of langston hughes on the steps in harlem in 1958 is from here.