When we think of Martin Luther King, Jr., we often think of him as a man with a vision, a dream. For most of us,
King's dream comes vividly to life in the words of his most
famous speech:
"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties
and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream…
"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths
to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons
of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I
have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
…"
Martin Luther King's dream came to life in those eloquent words. Others recorded their personal dreams in other
forms. For example, in his series of
paintings called "Migration" the artist Jacob Lawrence vividly portrayed the dreams of African Americans who escaped
poverty and oppression in the South to follow their dream of freedom and a good job in the North. Other artists put
their messages into their music. And poet Langston Hughes often shared his dreams -- his vision for what America could
be -- in the poetry he wrote.
Explain to students that today you're going to share with them some short poems in which Langston Hughes expressed
his dreams for America. The poems introduced below are short and easy to digest, and can be enjoyed on a fairly literal
level.
To begin the lesson, you might try to track down and share a book about Langston Hughes that is written on your
students' level. One good backgrounder, appropriate across the elementary grades, is Langston
Hughes: American Poet by Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple). If you are unable to track down a good
book, the resource below from the Library of Congress will provide an excellent introduction for elementary and middle
school students:
Once students are familiar with the story behind Hughes' poetry, introduce one or more of the poems below.
Dreams
In this poem, Langston Hughes encourages the reader to hold onto his or her dreams. Ask students What kinds of
dreams do you think the author of the poem had? Do you think this poem could be talking to other people about their
dreams too? Does it "speak" to you about the dreams you have in life? While Hughes is clearly urging black people
to keep dreaming -- not to give up their dreams of true freedom and equality -- the poem could be inspiring to all
dreamers as it encourages them to never give up on their dreams.
I, Too, Sing America
In this poem, Hughes shares the dream that many black people had at the turn of the last century and beyond: the dream
that one day there would be no separation of the races, that all people would be "at the table" and looked at in the
same way. The black man or woman in the poem dreams and sings about an "America" ("My country tis of thee, sweet
land of liberty, of thee I sing…") just like white people do; but just singing words about liberty does not necessarily
make it so. Talk about Hughes' powerful words. Talk about the first and second full stanzas, which compare the America
the poet lives in and the America of his or her dreams. Ask Does the poet have faith that one day America might
be a place of true equality?
Merry-Go-Round
Before sharing this poem, you might want to be sure students understand the reference to "Jim Crow" laws. Those laws,
which were enacted in many states, set aside "separate but equal" facilities for black people and white people. Share
some sample Jim Crow laws. With
that understanding, this Langston poem describes a black child's dream of riding a merry-go-round. It's a dream that
every child, black or white, has, but this child -- who is used to riding in the back of the bus -- wonders whether
he or she will be allowed to go for a ride because "there ain't no back to a merry-go-round." Ask students to respond
to the poem: What is the child's dilemma? How does the child feel? Do you think the child will be allowed to ride?
Dream Deferred
This poem is most appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students. Hughes paints a vivid picture as he
wonders what happens to dreams that are not realized. Different people might respond to unrealized dreams in different
ways. After sharing the poem, ask students to share their own dreams. Then you might ask Do you think most people
live out the dream of their lives? What will happen to you if your dream is not realized? Will you be disappointed?
Will it ruin your life? Or will you set aside your dream and move on? Will you take what you're given and make the
best of it? Hughes wonders all those things in this short poem.
Extension Activity Langston Hughes wrote many different kinds of poems. He wrote one poem that reflected
the great blues songs of the day. "Blues" music grew out of the Deep South. Its roots are in the "Negro spirituals"
and the song that slaves sang in the fields as they worked. As blues artist B.B. King once said, "The blues is an
expression of anger against shame and humiliation." Today, blues songs come in many different forms; they take on
the flavor of the artist. They often, however, reflect on things gone wrong, things that cause sadness. Hughes' poem
The Blues reflects that
sadness. After sharing the poem with students and discussing it, you might challenge students to write in Hughes'
style a blues stanza all their own, a stanza that reflects on some incident in their lives that gave them "the blues."
Assessment
Ask students to choose the Hughes poem that spoke most vividly to them. Which poem painted the best image of
the dreams that black people had for freedom and equality? Emphasize that no two people read any poem in exactly
the same way. So there is no right or wrong answer to the question; their choice depends only on what they felt
as they read the poem. In their writing, students should explain clearly why they chose the particular poem as the
best one.
An alternative activity, more appropriate for older students, might be to challenge students to compare Martin
Luther King's expression of the dreams of black people to those expressed by Langston Hughes. Which man's writings
more clearly reflect the dreams of black people throughout the first half of the 20th century?
SOCIAL SCIENCES: Civics GRADES K - 4 NSS-C.K-4.2 Values and Principles of Democracy GRADES 5 - 8 NSS-C.5-8.3 Principles of Democracy GRADES 9 - 12 NSS-C.9-12.3 Principles of Democracy
SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES K - 4 NSS-USH.K-4.1 Living and Working together in Families
and Communities, Now and Long Ago NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic
Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage
GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.5 Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction
(1850-1877) NSS-USH.5-12.6 Era 6: The Development of the Industrial
United States (1870-1900) NSS-USH.5-12.9 Era 9: Postwar United States (1945
to early 1970s) NSS-USH.5-12.10 Era 10: Contemporary United States
(1968 to the Present)
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For additional history lesson plans, see these Education World resources:
Langston Hughes Was a Dreamer Too