This was one of the last of Langston Hughes' protest poems before his death in 1967. Mister rich man, rich man, Mister Backlash, Mister Backlash, Just who do you think I am? Despite his often lonely childhood, a dislocated family and the experience of racist contempt, he became an internationally renowned writer, one of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s. Clicking a result will bring you directly to the content. The poem is similar in some ways to an older Bessie Smith song, 'Poor Man Blues': Mister rich man, rich man, !function(t,e,r){var n,s=t.getElementsByTagName(e)[0],i=/^http:/.test(t.location)? You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was born in Missouri and grew up in Kansas. This process is automatic. We're going to send you on your way in just a sec. The final coda completes the turnaround: the next "backlash blues" will be the white man's. The white man's control over identity, economics, education, the family, and politics would then be at an end. Backlash I'm gonna leave you With the backlash blues When I try to find a job To earn a little cash All you got to offer Is your mean old white backlash But the world is big Big and bright and round And it's full of folks like me Who are black, yellow, beige and brown Mr. Tell me, Mister Backlash, Who do you think I am? Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. The Backlash Blues was made into a song, sung by Nina Simone. The white man's control over identity, economics, education, the family, and politics would then be at an end.
Please enable Cookies and reload the page. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988. Backlash I'm gonna leave you With the backlash blues Mr. Looks like the site is more popular than we thought! A literal white backlash is, of course, something with which slaves would be very familiar, but that is now to be countered by a backlash of global proportions as people of color unite. Follow @genius The final coda completes the turnaround: the next "backlash blues" will be the white man's. //]]>. One of Hughes's last protest blues poems appeared in The Panther and the Lash. about Steven C. Tracy: On "The Backlash Blues".
The Backlash Blues Lyrics. Copyright © 1988 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. The Backlash Blues Langston Hughes. [CDATA[ The Backlash Blues This was one of the last of Langston Hughes' protest poems before his death in 1967. The Modern American Poetry Site is a comprehensive learning environment and scholarly forum for the study of modern and contemporary American poetry. Hughes's poem is a cousin to Bessie Smith's "Poor Man Blues": Mister rich man, rich man, Open up your heart and mind. Hughes's poem is a cousin to Bessie Smith's "Poor Man Blues": From Steven C. Tracy, Langston Hughes and the Blues. We are also happy to take questions and suggestions for future materials. In this poem Hughes raises questions about the identity that white society has imposed on the black man and the method by which the system attempts to guarantee the failure of the black man in that society. "http":"https";t.getElementById(r)||(n=t.createElement(e),n.id=r,n.src=i+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js",s.parentNode.insertBefore(n,s))}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); //
The Backlash Blues was made into a song, sung by Nina Simone. MAPS welcomes submissions of original essays and teaching materials related to MAPS poets and the Anthology of Modern American Poetry. Poetry can convey meaning that other forms of expression cannot. A part of his childhood is perhaps expressed in his short poem 'Hope': Sometimes when I'm lonely, Don't know why, Keep thinkin' I won't be lonely, By and by. The backlash is the white racist reaction to the US civil rights movement which began around 1964 with increased racist attacks on blacks in the US, the war in Vietnam and the subsequent diminishing of prospects for fairer society for the American poor. Follow @genius on Twitter for updates Thanks to YouTuber rANKo TINTORetto