LANGSTON HUGHES
My People
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.
Langston
Hughes
Happy Black History Month! You will notice this month that we are focusing on Black history and modern culture, through the arts and humanities! Looking for neat ways to celebrate and learn with your family? Here's a great starter list of 5 Ways to Celebrate Black History Month with your family!
Today in music class, we learned about the poetry of Langston Hughes. Our 3s and 4s class also learned that Langston Hughes often wrote about the unfair treatment of people with brown skin during the time that he lived, and we noted that people with brown skin are still treated unfairly at many times to this day. A simple but important concept for students to grasp using succinct language. Although we did movements to the poem to indicate the night, faces, stars, eyes, and so forth, I explained to children that when Langston Hughes pointed out the body in "his people" that he was referring to people, like him, who had brown skin. If you would like to read a very interesting and in-depth analysis of My People, please check out this link!
We also had some fun with movement songs like "Elevator, Escalator," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Bubblegum Song."
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHILD
1) Do you remember who wrote the poem, "My People" from music class? Langston Hughes!