As I think back on my elementary school days, I have to admit that most of it was quite a blur. Most of my memories have to do with an eraser in the shape of a dollar bill, a spider web playground I failed to climb, and books with really large font. One of these books included my fifth grade history textbook, a bright red tome that smelled like it had been left out in the rain. You know that smell--it's like a mixture between potting soil and wet dog. Damp. Sticky. Musty. This garish textbook, brighter than a metallic Christmas ornament, included the poem "I, too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes.
My eyes were glued to a photograph of Langston Hughes, whose image was perched on top of a text box, his jocular smile teasing me to read his words. His words! I read and reread that poem until I had it memorized, and eventually came up with a song to lock it into my long-term memory. I always felt so indulgent that I had that poem memorized. It was like I was given a cookie while everyone else had an apple. I did not understand what his words meant, nor would I for a few more years, but I felt like I had a kinship with him. He was like a visitor, knocking on my front door, waiting to be answered. Of all of my classmates, I was the one who opened the door on page 618. It was liberating. It gave a ten year-old girl the opportunity to view things from a different pair of eyes--the eyes of a black man during the Harlem Renaissance. It was my first introduction to see that I was uniquely different than my peers--that I responded differently than my peers! For a duplicate, that's quite a feat. I wanted to be like Langston Hughes, rallying brave people to fight against injustices across battlefields, encouraging others to view things from different perspectives. What a fine example to emulate. John Steinbeck puts my incoherent thoughts into more eloquent words: "I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen." Thank you, Langston Hughes! And I thank You, Father, for creating all of us so differently. When we know You, You instill a desire to fight back against the powers of this world and to make Your Name known. Read, reread, and memorize: "I, Too, Sing America," (1945) by Langston Hughes I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America. "To reconcile people to God and then to each other is the purpose of the gospel." - J.M. Perkins
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