Authors such as Claude McKay, Charles Chestnut, and Langston Hughes address the issue of race in their writing. In Claude McKay's poem, "If We Must Die," he identifies the need for his "kinsmen" to stand up against oppression and fight back. If they all must die, he argues, they might as well die nobly as opposed to "...like hogs hunted and penned in an inglorious spot." He is telling his race that it is better to stand up for what they believe in and to fight for equality than to endure the injustices of racism and die as cowards.

Charles Chestnut also deals with the issue of race in his short story, "Po' Sandy." In this story, he tells of a slave, Sandy, who was taken away from his family to be used as a laborer for neighbor farms because he was such a superb worker. While he was away, his wife was sold

Langston Hughes also dealt with the issue of race in his works. In his poem, "I, Too," Hughes writes about how he is forced to eat in the kitchen when company comes. His resolve to eat at the table in the future becomes his declaration of self-worth. Hughes is communicating to the reader that African Americans are becoming stronger and more united, and that one day they will need to be treated as equal to whites. He also goes on to say how "beautiful" his race is and expresses hope that someday "White America" will be able to look beyond skin color and see the unique assets of each individual. Shamefully, then, they will regret the way they judged African American people.

, and he was never able to see her again. Through this story Chestnut was conveying to the reader the dehumanization of the black slaves. This dehumanization was the result of owners destroying their bonds and disrupting the family unit without any sense of remorse. Clearly, slaves were not valued as people, but as property. Whatever respect Sandy received was the result of his worth to the owner and he wasn't rewarded in any way for it.

In addition to race, many African American writers express the dilemma of class for blacks within American society. Langston Hughes uses class as a theme in his poems, "Mother to Son" and "Harlem (2)." In the poem "Mother to Son," the mother relates that she's had a difficult journey through life and, despite her hardships, has always kept going. She tells her son not to become discouraged or to "turn back." In other words, even though life presents challenges he needs to keep searching and "a-climbin' " to get ahead in life. In his poem "Harlem (2)," Hughes poses the question, "What happens to a dream deferred?" He uses similes to propose such possibilities as "festering like a sore," "stinking like rotten meat," and "sagging like a heavy load." His final offering is emphasized in italicized writing, "or does it just explode?" In this poem he is conveying to the reader that the black man cannot continuall

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Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)