The poem “I dream a world” by Langston Hughes stresses the fact that while the African American race yearns for equality, its realization is far away and, thus, seems almost like a fantasy.
Explanation:
In summary, the poet writes of a dream he has wherein the oppression of black African American and all other races will be left to history, and people of each ethnicity will live in freedom.
The repetition of the word “dream” supports this, with the poem being almost inspirational, as Hughes, being both a jazz poet and a social activist, calls on the reader to help create this world. The poet focuses on the reader directly, for example, in the quote “whatever race you be,” which supports this notion.
The explanation for studying this popular work in middle school, along with “Dream Keeper,” is to teach students literary analysis, how to discern a figure speech, and the history of the civil rights movement.
