Langston Hughes

I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, why Democracy means, everybody but me.

I was a victim of a stereotype. There were only two of us Negro kids in the whole class, and our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry. Well, everybody knows - except us - that all Negroes have rhythms, so they elected me class poet.

Even the 'Negro' shows like 'Amos and Andy' and 'Beulah' are written largely by white writers - the better to preserve the stereotypes, I imagine.

Writing is like travelling. It's wonderful to go somewhere, but you get tired of staying.

The Jewish people and the Negro people both know the meaning of Nordic supremacy. We have both looked into the eyes of terror.

We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.

We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.

It's such a Bore Being always Poor.

Very early in life, it seemed to me that there was a relationship between the problems of the Negro people in America and the Jewish people in Russia, and that the Jewish people's problems were worse than ours.

When peoples care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

My writing has been largely concerned with the depicting of Negro life in America.