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The first picture at the start of paragraph is "Harriet Tubman - No. 10." This is the image we looked at in class. Click on it to see it larger

In this picture I think its suppose to show Harriet Tubman's struggle to get across to the other side, I see some sort of chains near is leg and a snake in the left hand corner. This depicts her physical struggle and I feel people can connect to it because everyone has a mental struggle.- Cat

I believe that this painting, done by Jacob Lawrence, shows a scene of the Underground Railroad. Depicted in this image is a man clothed in a white robe. He is seemingly chained down to the ground, and he is blocked by an obstacle. However, the man reaches upward toward the North Star because the star provides hope of freedom.

"Into Bondage" by Aaron Douglas was premiered in 1936 at the Texas centennial exposition for the hall of Negro life. The picture is meant to portray African-American history, especially history. Douglas belief that knowing the past better was the way to help move forward.

The way I interpreted this painting is Aaron Douglas is trying to remind the racists that white people enslaved them years ago and now they are free but they don't feel free. Another way that I interpret this is Aaron Douglas is telling the black community that they have come very far.

"Into Bondage" by Aaron Douglas clearly exhibited sending slaves across seas and trading them for goods, the man on the platform is clearly looking at the North Star, he is looking for freedom, because during that time, the North Star guided escapen slaves through the Underground Railroad. The radiating light seems to resemble the sun and what a new day may bring, like a new life away from slavery, the other man with arms in the air seem to have the same atitude, but the rest of them seem to have lost their hope in this new life. Their hearts have been beaten to believe nothing good will come.

I think this picture shows the African Americans celebrating with music and the arts that they now have freedom to express. They seem happy and hopeful of the future now that they were free.

"Let America be America again" by Langston Hughes and "From Slavery to Reconstruction "by Aaron Douglas These work of writing and art, both by different men but in the same time period, depict America as a great hope or a great oppression. In the picture, " From Slavery to Reconstruction" There seems to be a bright source, just like most of his paintings. I believe if he wanted to show America being a terrible nation, he would have made the whole painting dark and gloomy, therefore making people interpret that there is no light, thus no hope. In" Let America Be America Again" He talks about how America is a faux, filled with ulterior motives, and a place where dreams are let down.He also says that they should just let America be what it was seen as in the eyes of dreamers. But he damped the notion when he said in pasrtheseses " ( it was never America for me)" . Both these pieces paint two entire different pictures of America. This shows that the outlook people have on America varies from their experience with the people and the politics.

This painting also represents similar traits as "Into Bondage", shows slavery and African-American history. Also represents hope, the man is standing with an instrument and light is shining down. Hope through music.

In "Aspiration", painted by Aaron Douglas, an idea of hope is depicted. After observing the image, I noticed that the people on the foreground are handcuffed. This leads me to the conclusion that they are slaves. Also, everyone seems to be reaching/pointing toward an illuminated, well-built building. Light usually symbolizes hope, so I presume that the it gives the slaves a glimmer of freedom. Finally, I observed that there is a large star in the direction that the people are pointing. In the Underground railroad, the North Star led the slaves to freedom. So again, Douglas illustrated hope through a sort of light.

Paintings by Aaron Douglas show a pattern of freedom, escape from slavery, this pattern is shown by a bright star which slaves followed through the Underground Railroad when they were escaping. This light gives them hope, hope radiates from the center of the picture and the slaves below raise their arms in praise and excitement. This optimism is bright in comparison to the negativity in the poem "Enslaved" by Claude McKay. "For weary centuries despised, oppressed, Enslaved and lynched, denied a human place In the great life line of the Christian West; And in the Black Land disinherited" Says Claude McKay as he speaks of his people, who were wrongly treated for their colors and cultures. They were rejected their god given rights and mistreated under the hands of the Christian West. This negative poem shows the cruelty and disgust of slavery in America, and reflects how Claude McKay thinks of it.

The painting "The Aspects of Negro Life: An Idyll of the Deep South" by Aaron Douglas depicts slaves going about their daily activities. Some slaves are are working in the field and some are playing instruments. But one slaves attention is captured by a very bright star in the sky. This painting shows hope because he is looking to the star for hope.

This painting represents hope for the runaway slaves. The slaves are looking at the birds as to go North. The birds represent the hope for those people.

I like this poem because it talks about how deary and nostalgic the mornings in New york can be compared to its night life.

I really liike this poem becase it describes the peace of New York before the sun rises. The details are very vivid and paint a clear picture dawn in New York.

This represents hope because even though they are poor they still have hope.

This picture is the fourth one down from the top. It shows hopefulness because he is looking out the window toward the light outside the window.

This painting seems hopeful because of the way the people seem to be heading towards the building and the building is illuminated with bright light.

Instead of the North Star bringing these people to freedom and hope, the birds are the sign of hope and a new world in this scenario. The people are following the birds to the north and their seems to be hope, because the people have packed up their stuff, left their homes and are traveling to the north.

In MLK's Speech MLK talks about the "White Only" signs. This is also similar to Langston Hughes story "One Friday Morning." In "One Friday Morning", Nancy Lee has this talented beautiful water color painting however she cannot win the award because the award is for non-colored people or you can call it "White Only." Both of them have experience the same type of segregation, being labeled as color for pointless reasons, whether using a bathroom to winning an art reward. More towards the end MLK says "With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day." which is very similar to Nancy Lee's final thought "This is the land we must make." Both of them have felt the same type of segregation, and both want to make a change in America.

I chose this poem because it although was written after the time of slavery, Langston Hughes still thinks that America is not completely fee, America is not America to him, there is no equality for him, this poem expresses his feelings of America

Let America be America by Langston Hughes s very opposite to Claude McKay's To One coming north. This is because McKay says such good things about the north and all this equality, but Hughes disagrees, he says that America is a free place but not to him, he has no equality there, freedom does not spread to him. Their points of view are very different.

"Let America Be America Again" By Langston Hughes is a negative poem. Criticizing the way America treats its lower class but vital citizens, this poem uses quotes from famous documents like the Declaration of Independence to show that America never achieved its dream of equality. A positive counter-image is seen in Aaron Douglas's "Song of the Towers". In the foreground of this painting, a man stands on a bridge made of a gear in front of a row of towers. Between two towers, the statue of liberty is visible, shining a bright light on the man.