15+ Historically-Rooted Poems about African Americans

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

Beginning with Phillis Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects in 1773, African American poetry has a long and powerful history. It is linked to an extensive tradition of oral storytelling and music. Much African American verse is inspired by cultural shifts and historical events happening contemporaneously, specifically from a Black perspective.

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This sub-section of Black literature is filled with allusions to the fight for equal rights, slavery and the Civil War, family, history, passion and creation, Harlem, jazz, beauty, and much more. Experiences in contemporary American society flow through African American verse in a unique and highly relevant way. Many authors responded to their environment by bringing to light the darker parts of their experiences, reminding readers that there is never just one way of interpreting events.

Famous African American poets include Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, Gwendolyn Brooks, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Nikki Giovanni, and Claude McKay. These authors, and many more, used poetry to define their life experiences and those of their friends, family members, and the broader community. Much of their verse focuses on Black culture, Black love, and the equal treatment of all people in the United States.

Poems about African Americans Visual Representation

Poem Explorer Poetry Archives

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Still I Rise

by Maya Angelou

‘Still I Rise’ is an inspiring and emotional poem that’s based around Maya Angelou’s experiences as a Black woman in America. It encourages readers to love themselves fully and persevere in the face of every hardship.

This is very likely Maya Angelou’s most popular and often-quoted poem. It is celebratory and encourages self-love and acceptance. She takes the reader through a series of statements in which she praises her own determination, perseverance, and strength. No matter what happens, she’s still able to rise up and become more than she was in the past. Nothing about her history holds her back, and she doesn’t allow it to.

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

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The Negro Speaks of Rivers

by Langston Hughes

‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ surveys the cultural persistence of Black experiences, achievements, and hardships throughout history.

One of the core topics of this poem is the historical significance of Black people when it comes to human civilization. Hughes traces the origins of African Americans past the Atlantic slave trade into the ancient past, expanding their collective identity beyond the tragedy of colonial subjugation to accommodate their role as foundational to humanity's greatest accomplishments, as well as victims of its worst crimes. Ultimately, the poem seeks to convince Black individuals of their worth and value by dispelling the racist notion their ancestors achieved nothing of note.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

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Nationality: American

Emotions: Compassion, Empathy

Topics:

African Americans

Adulthood, Adversity, Black Lives Matter, Mortality, Mourning, Oppression, Overcoming Adversity

Form: Free Verse

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Power

by Audre Lorde

‘Power’ is based on a real-life murder and court case. This poem was first published in 1978 but is just as relevant today as it was then.

‘Power’ is a moving poem that was written in reaction to a specific, real-life court case involving the murder of a young boy. The New York City police officer who committed the murder was acquitted, something that Lorde learned about while she was driving. She described having to pull off the road in a rage. In the lines of this poem, she addresses inequality, racism, and injustice.

The difference between poetry and rhetoric

is being ready to kill

yourself

instead of your children.

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Harlem (A Dream Deferred)

by Langston Hughes

‘Harlem (A Dream Deferred)’ is a powerful poem by Langston Hughes, written in response to the challenges he faced as a black man in a white-dominated world. It questions the fate of deferred dreams among Harlem residents.

Undoubtedly one of Langston Hughes’ best-known works, ‘Montage of a Dream Deferred,’ also commonly known as ‘Harlem,’ is a book-length poem. The poem is noted for its musical qualities and its direct depictions of the inequality of the “American Dream.” Hughes refers directly to the people of Harlem. The Black citizens of America’s cities are not living the dream that its white citizens are. Through a series of questions, one Harlem resident asks what happened to his dreams and more widely, the dreams of all those like him.

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

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I, Too, Sing America

by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes’ ‘I, Too, Sing America’ delves into the experience of a Black man navigating American society, emphasizing his equal claim to the American identity.

This poem speaks directly to the experiences of African Americans, asserting their rightful place in the nation’s cultural and historical identity. Hughes captures both the pain of exclusion and the strength of perseverance, offering a collective voice of resilience. The brevity limits the exploration of broader African American histories.

I, too, sing America.

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen

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Primer for Blacks

by Gwendolyn Brooks

‘Primer For Blacks’ by Gwendolyn Brooks speaks on the necessity of accepting one’s black heritage and a possible unified future for all black people.

‘Primer for Blacks’ is one of the longer poems on this list. In it, the speaker makes an impassioned speech to all the Black men, women, and children she knows and doesn’t know, about the necessity of accepting one’s heritage. This is not just for one’s own personal benefit but for the benefit of the broader community. It is only when the Black community comes together, fully supportive of themselves and one another, they will know their own greatness.

Blackness

is a title,

is a preoccupation,

is a commitment Blacks

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Nationality: American

Themes: Celebration, Dreams, Identity, Immortality

Emotions: Compassion, Empathy

Topics:

African Americans

Black Lives Matter, Life, Life Struggles, Oppression, Slavery

Form: Sonnet

Genre: Horror

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Harriet Beecher Stowe

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Dunbar was inspired by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as it was one of the first works of literature to shed light on the brutality and cruelty of slavery.

Dunbar was one of the best-known African American poets of his time. His parents were formerly enslaved people, allowing him a perceptive on life and suffering that was powerful and incredibly moving. In this particular poem, he praises Stowe for telling the true story of slavery. Her famous volume Uncle Tom’s Cabin revealed elements of the practice that many Americans shied away from or purposefully ignored.

She told the story, and the whole world wept

At wrongs and cruelties it had not known

But for this fearless woman's voice alone.

She spoke to consciences that long had slept:

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Ain’t That Bad?

by Maya Angelou

‘Ain’t That Bad?’ by Maya Angelou is a celebration of Black culture and identity. The poem focuses on aspects of African-American life and contributions.

This wonderfully energetic poem is a pure celebration of African American culture, identity, and community. In it, Angelou features many symbols of African American culture, such as objects like do-rags, appearances such as afros, and significant Black figures such as Stevie Wonder and Jesse Jackson. The speaker takes pride in the sense of community they find in their culture, repeating the rhetorical questions "An' ain't we Black? / An' ain't we fine?". Perhaps the most joyous celebration of African American people comes with the line "Ain't we coloful folks?".

Dancin' the funky chicken

Eatin' ribs and tips

Diggin' all the latest sounds

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Nationality: American

Theme: Death

Emotion: Sadness

Topics:

African Americans

Death of a Loved One, Oppression, Strength, Women's Rights, Women's Strength

Forms: Blank Verse, Free Verse

Genre: Tragedy

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The Women Gather

by Nikki Giovanni

‘The Women Gather’ is a short, free verse poem that speaks on how we judge one another and the essentially good nature of human beings.

This short poem is one of Nikki Giovanni’s best. In it, she discusses how we judge one another while also revealing that she believes in the essential goodness of human beings. She speaks about how human beings, specifically women, come together in times of tragedy and hardship. They can help one another through these difficult times. In the next part of the poem, she spends time talking about those who are the source of these tragedies and who urge them on.

The women gather because it is not unusual to seek comfort in our hours of stress.

A man must be buried.

It is not unusual that the old bury the young though it is an abomination.

#10

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Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem

by Helene Johnson

‘Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem’ by Helene Johnson is a deeply affecting poem that lucidly attempts to uncover a man’s shortcomings alongside all that makes his superbly admirable.

Johnson's poem is unique because it attempts to accurately articulate the way Black identity and attempts to cultivate pride for it was perceived in the 20th century. The poem offers a staunch celebration of the superb courage required to vociferously declare one's love for who they are as people. One that still rings true even today, close to a century later.

You are disdainful and magnificent—

Your perfect body and your pompous gait,

Your dark eyes flashing solemnly with hate,

Small wonder that you are incompetent

#11

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Nationality: American

Themes: Identity, Journey

Emotions: Bravery, Empathy

Topics:

African Americans

Black Lives Matter, Change, Community, Conflict, Daily Life, Life Struggles, Oppression, Overcoming Adversity

Genre: Elegy

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Rosa

by Rita Dove

In the poem, ‘Rosa’ by Rita Dove is a short and powerful piece that relays the story of Rosa Parks in simple and memorable terms.

This poem is one of several that Rita Dove wrote in dedication to Civil Rights activists. As the title suggests, this poem is about Rosa Parks. In it, readers can find allusions to the practice of segregation in the United States in the fifties, as well as mention of Parks herself. While her name is not mentioned in the body of the poem itself, it’s clear who the text is about. She “stood up” against racists by sitting down and doing “nothing.”

How she sat there,

the time right inside a place

so wrong it was ready.

#12

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Still Here

by Langston Hughes

‘Still Here’ by Langston Hughes is a poem that is grounded in varying grammar concepts to indicate weariness through struggle and clarity after the struggle concludes.

‘Still Here’ addresses the African American experience through themes of resilience and perseverance against adversity. Langston Hughes, a prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance, uses vivid imagery and personal struggle to convey the challenges faced by African Americans. The poem's defiant tone and celebration of endurance reflect a broader narrative of identity, pride, and resilience within the African American community.

I been scared and battered.

My hopes the wind done scattered.

Snow has friz me,

Sun has baked me,

#13

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Sympathy

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

‘Sympathy’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar evokes a profound sense of empathy in its attempt to understand the forlorn song of those who feel they are captives unable to reach the world beyond their respective cages.

In many ways, this poem by Dunbar became a powerful symbol during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. One that's influenced many a Black writer, from Ralph Ellison to Maya Angelou, the former using its famous line as the title for her first autobiography.

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;

When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

#14

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Worth

by Marilyn Nelson

‘Worth’ by Marilyn Nelson wrestles for an answer regarding both who and by what means do we prescribe value to other people and ourselves.

Obviously, this poem touches on the experiences of Africans brought against their will to the U.S. Yet it also reckons with the generational consequences this has had on their descendants, as it has disrupted any kind of connection to their shared country of origin. For Nelson, the necessary first step is recognizing that one's worth is determined only by themselves, not by the remnants of a racist system.

Today in America people were bought and sold:

five hundred for a "likely Negro wench."

If someone at auction is worth her weight in gold,

how much would she be worth by pound? By ounce?

#15

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jasper texas 1998

by Lucille Clifton

‘jasper texas 1998’ by Lucille Clifton is a devastating poem that illustrates both the poet’s frustrated fury over and the dehumanizing barbarity of systemic racial violence against Black people in the United States.

Lucille Clifton often focused her poetic prowess on illustrating Black experiences in America. This poem is without a doubt one of her more affecting pieces, and not just because it was based on the real-life hateful murder of a Black man in Texas in 1998. What makes it all the more impactful is the lack of hope that many of the poet's verses contain.

i am a man's head hunched in the road.

i was chosen to speak by the members

of my body. the arm as it pulled away

pointed toward me, the hand opened once

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15+ Historically-Rooted Poems about African Americans

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

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15+ Historically-Rooted Poems about African Americans

(15 to start, 75+ to explore)

by Maya Angelou

by Langston Hughes

by Audre Lorde

by Langston Hughes

by Langston Hughes

by Gwendolyn Brooks

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

by Maya Angelou

by Nikki Giovanni

by Helene Johnson

by Rita Dove

by Langston Hughes

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

by Marilyn Nelson

by Lucille Clifton

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