My People

Hughes, L. (2009). My people. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

            My People, by Langston Hughes, is Hughes’ poem, “My People,” with different pictures, taken by Charles Smith Jr, of black people; young, old, men, women, children, adults, etc. The poem is short so there are only two to three words on each page. There is a page at the end that explains why the pictures were chosen and why only black people are in it. It explains that Hughes wrote the poem in the 1920s to celebrate his culture. This book emphasizes that everyone is different but still beautiful.

            I would use this book to introduce a poetry section. I like how this short poem was turned into a book. This book would also be good to teach students about diversity. Black students will be in my classroom so I want to be able to incorporate as many different cultures and races into my curriculum. It is so important for students to learn that everyone is different and we need to embrace each other’s differences. You could also use this book to introduce a chapter book about the Civil Rights Movement or a different part of history involving equal rights.