Protest Poems and Petty Populations

"Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes

            The other poems that we read by Steptoe and Durem were pretty straightforward protest poems; they disliked the idea of white poets or any poets for that matter ignoring the suffering of black people or trying to cast it in a lighter tone. They did it in such a way that it appeared that they were protesting in a violent way--the language was harsh and clipped, and it sounded as if they were yelling. In my opinion, while "Theme for English B" does not follow the same pattern as these two, or in fact most protest poems, it retains aspect of a protest, but without the attitude. The character speaking obviously has some quibbles in regards to the perceived equality of his white writing instructor and himself by the white population. Especially towards the end of the poem, these come out. He states "You are white--  /  but a part of me, as I am a part of you.  /  That's American." I interpreted this line to mean that he takes issue with the idea that is held by most of white America; that he and his instructor are in separate worlds and in no way comparable. Thus, here he is replacing this notion with a new one: we are both Americans and make up part of the population. We share many qualities and are therefore part of each other. Another part of the poem in which protest is evident is in the penultimate line, "[You are] slightly more free." In this case the speaker is merely stating the truth of the current ramifications of racial division. Again, this blunt representation of their varying statuses is a form of protest in that he is not being at all submissive to the norm, but rather speaking out truthfully. Therefore, I consider this poem to be a form of nonviolent protesting when compared to "To the Pale Poets" or "Three Legged Chair" because it represents the calm but persistent attitude of nonviolent protests during the civil rights movement.
     

           Interestingly, though, while the nonviolent protests of the past were more effective in making people with stubborn mindsets realize their wrongdoing than those that merely affirmed stereotypes, for me the more moving poems were those that smacked you in the face with images of living in poverty. However, I hope that the speaker's English instructor is enlightened enough to appreciate that the truth of how the speaker was feeling came out in the assignment (as was supposed to happen) rather than writing it off as insubordination.