On the Road with Racism Langton Hughes Life Experiences

What is racism? In â€Å"On the Road† by Langston Hughes racism is characterized in an unemployed African American. The African American depicted in this story is known as Sargeant. Sargeant is a character that Langston Hughes had little relativity to as being homeless as well as in search for food, but he undoubtedly identified with in culture. Langston Hughes childhood, heritage, and involvement in the African American community led him to create a strong willed character. Born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902, James Mercer Langston Hughes childhood was not one that would be noted in a Hallmark card. Hughes like many other African Americans had drawbacks. His mother, Caroline Mercer Langston and father, James Nathaniel Hughes divorced only a few†¦show more content†¦Published in The Nation in 1926, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain: Hughes wrote â€Å"The younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or s hame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly, too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn’t matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain free ourselves.† Sergeant relates to Hughes manifesto because as revealed in â€Å"on the Road† he fearlessly walked up to an â€Å"All White† church without any thought of shame. Sergeant disregarded whether or not the white community would accept him, he only felt the need to see tomorrow as another day. So when he stood there watching the debris fall upon the white society, he felt free. He was Free, Free! References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langston_Hughes http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-2/stoval.html On the Road by LangstonShow MoreRelatedThe Road That Ran Down The Center Of E atonville2025 Words   |  9 Pages The main road that ran down the center of Eatonville was a major transit route for people traveling to and from Orlando and Maitland. This route gave Hurston the opportunity to sit in her yard and watch the â€Å"white folks† drive by. There was definitely racial turmoil and segregation in the Central Florida due to Jim Crow laws at the time, however Eatonville was able shield white oppression, to an extent (Tiffany, 36). Her father, John Hurston, was a jack-of-trades having worked as a carpenter, farmer