Diversity in Audience

In reading the poems for today, I found that they worked in with some of our discussion last class. It is clear that as we move forward in time, the social commentary on the new-found complexities in free-black society have become more pointed. Last class we talked about the new economic wrinkle in social class as the distinction between rich Negros who wish to be white, and poor Negros who are proud of the black heritage. The readings for this class by Stearling Brown and Langston Hughes continue to speak of this new conflict and the challenging position of the black race as it reflects upon political protest, art, self-identification, nationalism etc.

Furthermore, the Mitchell reading, the bios and other historical information shed light on the complexities of artistic representation of the race. Langston Hughes mentions at length the division between the rich and poor blacks, and also the complexity of the art work as it is perceived by the audience. I found this particularly striking because of the feelings of racial inferiority and insecurity that was present in one perception, and the pride, power, and soul that could make the same art form sound like music to the ears of another audience. If the art is really only as good as its audience, it is no wonder that black artwork of the time was as diverse as the strata of the black society. And similarly, it is impressive to see the diversity arise despite the nay-saying from the other sides of black and white society.