Teachers are amazing people, who must negotiate any number of
difficult challenges daily—all in an attempt to educate our
citizenry for a better democracy. Yet, as wonderful as teachers
are, they may not really understand when their pedagogical
stances are at least off-putting and possibly racist. Teachers
in America ought to think about what this clause means: e
pluribus unum. After reviewing Hughes’s poem—a piece which comes
from Hughes’ heart and lived experience, a powerful text—we see
that Hughes displays pride in his color and hurt at the way his
race has been treated. In so doing, in the first half of the
poem, he upbraids the teacher who sees people of color, like
Hughes, as having similar experiences as those who are white.
Here, Hughes is taking his teacher to task for asking him to
write: Go home and write a page tonight. And let that page come
out of you— Then, it will be true. I wonder if it’s that simple?
. . . . I am the only colored student in my class. Of course,
where there is critique, ther