Mrs. Ortiz assigns an Illuminated Poetry Project

I, Too

BY LANGSTON HUGHES

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen  <----  This is a metaphor.  Eating in the kitchen is what servants did.   

  It means we are not always seen    

and work behind the scenes.

When company comes,

But I laugh,

And eat well                             <<<---------------------------------------------eating well and growing strong are metaphors

And grow strong.                                                                        for gaining power, acceptance, knowledge 

                                                                                                    It means thriving & growing as a people

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.

This poem shows how African American people were treated at the turn of the twentieth century.  Hughes writes this poem in response to Walt Whitman's poem "I Hear America Singing".  In it, Whitman celebrates all the people who, in his vision, make up America and contribute to its strength.  Hughes responds with this poem that says, "I, too, am America" and don't forget about me.  He is saying that you left out an important group of who makes up America.  My part in helping to build this country is equally as important.  I, too, do the work that makes America great.  We are workers, artists, builders, thinkers, and families.  We are contributing to the culture, the economy, the academia, and the society.  We may be considered second class now.  We may be sent to the kitchen to eat, but we are growing in both strength and numbers.  Soon you will not be able to ignore us as we will be your equals.  We will not dare be told that we are anything less.