Harlem Renaissance poets

Harlem Renaissance
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University
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Democracy: By Langston HughesDemocracy will not comeToday, this yearNor everThrough compromise and fear.I have as much right As the other fellow hasTo standOn my two feet And own the land.I tire so of hearing people say, Let things take their course.Tomorrow is another day.I do not need my freedom when I'm dead.I cannot live on tomorrow's bread.FreedomIs a strong seedPlantedIn a great need.I live here, too.I want freedomJust as you.
Southern Mansion: By Arna Bontemps
Poplars are standing there still as death
and ghosts of dead men
meet their ladies walking
two by two beneath the shade
and standing on the marble steps.
 
There is a sound of music echoing
through the open door
and in the field there is
another sound tinkling in the cotton:
chains of bondsmen dragging on the ground
 
The years go back with an iron clank,
a hand is on the gate,
a dry leaf trembles on the wall.
Ghosts are walking.
They have broken roses down
and poplars stand there still as death.
Describes each author's role and importance within the Harlem Renaissance
Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes are perhaps the most visible figure in the renaissance period. Both born in 1902, Langston and Arna made their mark in history and are still being felt to present. Langston is credited with a lot of arts including novel, plays and poems. He dropped out of University of Columbia and moved to Harlem and started working on fields and other odd jobs to raise income. It was ironical that a person who at least had gone to college was unable to find a decent job. This can however be said to be due to the racism at the time.Identify the elements in each of their poems in which you see evidence of the “double consciousness" being express by each author“Double consciousness” is an idea coined by Du Bois when he was talking about the idea that African Americans are undergoing difficult time choosing between their cultures and going to school. Going to school can make one be rejected by their people and while it does not necessarily make someone be accepted by the whites. This puts an educated African American in a peculiar position as they are of no identity and lack acceptance. This position was described a lot of times in this time of Harlem reconnaissance since most of the writers were considered educated and as such were deem...