The Negro Speaks of Rivers

 Today we read a poem called The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes. The poems backstory is that Langston was on a train on the way to see his dad in Mexico when he looked out and saw this river he began to write about. In the poem he talks in first person but is really speaking for black people as a whole. He talks about black people being as ancient as a river because we were the first race here on earth. He names rivers close by eachother on the map to convey his story more. He also says that his soul has grown deep like river’s insisting that he gains wisdom.