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Rising Above the Hatred in Langston Hughes: "The Negro Speaks of River” Sometimes near the water something stirs within my soul and a feeling of serenity settles over me. Over eighty years ago, a majestic American River similarly inspired a young writer. That writer was Langston Hughes, and the poem inspired by his journey is titled "A Negro Speaks of Rivers." Although the times dictated racial discrimination, Langston Hughes masterfully instilled a growing sense of pride for his race by claiming that Negroes had been instrumental in civilizations all through history, and therefore could transcend those inequalities that ruled the times they lived in. The year was 1921 and Hughes "often expressed his views on the frustration