On “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” focuses on Langston hughes claim of knowing rivers as ancient as the world, and older than the flow of human blood in the veins. To me, the poem is similar to the movie “Roots” which explored the experience of an African called Kunta Kinte. The movie showed the pain and suffering he had to endure as a slave, from crossing the rivers to the field plantation. In the Kunta Kinte was captured as a slave in Africa, taken across different rivers and seas, and then sold into slavery. Kunta Kinte’s character relates with Langston Hughes poem when he says:
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.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln
went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy
bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the river
To me, kunta Kinte’s persona reflects this poem.
ENG 215 - VISUAL POETRY 
Reblogged this on ENG 215 – VISUAL POETRY and commented:
Attiqah and I wrote on the persona of the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” and we both came to the same conclusion that it was centered on the sufferings and struggles of African Americans from the days of slavery to the present day. I like the fact that Attiqah mentioned the use of simile and metaphors in the poem. I didn’t notice it when reading the poem, so it was a nice observation on her part. Like she said in her blog, the poem has a very soothing tone as it describes the human soul. I never envisioned Abraham Lincoln when reading this poem, but after reading Attiqah’s blog and seeing how she was able to connect Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with African Americans to the poem, it definitely gave the poem a whole new meaning on African American history. I found that really fascinating and insightful. Harriet Tubman definitely relates to the poem because she was strong willed and had gone through a lot of obstacles in her life, just like Kunta Kinte. Attiqah’s blog gave me a new insight into the poem, and I was able to have a more in-depth knowledge and admiration for both the poem and Langston Hughes.