Langston Hughes — "I built my house near the sea. I built my house near the sea. And I love the sea…"

"The night is beautiful, so the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, so the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people."

"What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it j…"

"I remember the days when I was a kid and I used to go to the movies and sit in the balcony. And I would see the white kids downstairs, and I would be up there with all the other colored kids."

"Negroes, sweet and docile, meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day they change their mind!"

"I'm so tired of waiting, Aren't you, For the world to become a loving place?"