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.]]
Langston Hughes begins his poem with a symbol of patriotism and pride in one's identity. For Hughes, He too is America but this concept ties into the broader aspect of all Africans in America being American. This poem is not about Langston Hughes. Instead, Langston Hughes uses himself as a symbol of all African-Americans in America during that time. He is the darker brother of America, not just to his own race. No matter how people feel towards Africans, it will not change the fact that they too are American like anyone else.
The darker brother who has to eat in the kitchen when company comes is referring to the practice of racial segregation. Before the Civil Rights Movement, there were many laws that prohibited African-Americans from eating in the same restaurant as whites, going to the same school as whites, and even drinking from the same water fountain as whites.
However, this does not discourage the African-American man. Instead, the African-American man uses this as fuel to grow stronger and stronger until he is strong enough to stand up for himself and demand the respect that he deserves, because he is no different than the white man. He too is an American.
Once the rest of America sees what the minority population is capable of, they will feel bad about how they supressed them for hundreds of years. Beauty does not only equal looks in this matter. It is the beauty of how they treat each other as brothers as not as a means to an end. It is the beauty of the limitless knowledge they have. It is the beauty of their culture. Once the rest of America understands what being black means, they will understand how wrong they were for the countless years of oppression.
The lighter brothers may not like it, but they have to accept the fact that the darker brother too is America. They too are American. They too helped build this country into what it is. They too breed on the same grounds as everyone else. They too breathe the same American air as everyone else. You can suppress the movement, you can beat the darker brother, you can belittle him, but you will never be able to take away his identity. Because as much as you want to, they are American just like everyone else.
Once the Civil Rights Movement picks up, the minority power would no longer be able to be ignored or supressed. Instead, they would have to welcome them to the table and the table being America. African-Americans are here to stay, and eventually they will take over the dinner table and immerse themselves in their brothers of all color.