"Negro" By Langston Hughes

I am a Negro:

Black as the night is black,

Black like the depths of my Africa.

I’ve been a slave:

Caesar told me to keep his door-steps clean.

I brushed the boots of Washington.

I’ve been a worker:

Under my hand the pyramids arose.

I made mortar for the Woolworth Building.

I’ve been a singer:

All the way from Africa to Georgia

I carried my sorrow songs.

I made ragtime.

I’ve been a victim:

The Belgians cut off my hands in the Congo.

They lynch me still in Mississippi.

I am a Negro:

Black as the night is black,

Black like the depths of my Africa.

This is an outstanding poem indeed. Not only African-Americans have suffered throughout history, but as an African-Brazilian I can say that lots of unspeakable things happend to black slaves in my country. This poem is for all those people with African roots who know prejudice is still part of our days. This a great poem that will endure for years to come.