Summary
Hughes begins his essay by recalling a conversation he had with an unnamed young Black poet. The poet had said that he desired to be "a poet—not a negro poet" (1). Hughes suggests that what the poet really meant was that he wanted to be a white poet, and by extension a white person. This urge to assimilate to white culture, Hughes argues, is the "mountain" that Black artists currently face.
Continuing his exploration of this unnamed poet, Hughes provides information about his background. The poet is from an upper middle-class Black family who have instilled in him a sense of admiration for white people and self-loathing for his own race. Hughes expands his analysis to imagine other homes of "high class" Black families, in which white art and white culture reign supreme (3).
By contrast, Hughes invokes the "low-down folks, the so-called common element," or the Black neighborhoods that do not aspire to whiteness. These communities, he argues, are central for the creative production of distinctly Black art. They embrace the art already being made by Black artists and inspire it in artists to come. For these Black artists, Hughes argues, there is a wealth of material available to them if they only look to and celebrate their own race.
Analysis
The beginning of the essay uses an example from Hughes's own life to help dramatize what the titular "racial mountain." His allusion to a conversation he had with a fellow Black poet serves a larger purpose than simply criticizing that poet's viewpoint; indeed, Hughes uses the poet's comments to launch into a deeper and more nuanced explication of how prejudice in the United States has been internalized by Black people and how it has affected the production of a distinctly Black art. When Hughes describes the poet's remark, he says he was speaking to "one of the most promising of the young Negro poets" (1). This introduction of the poet is, then, at once critical and complimentary—Hughes recognizes that this particular poet was talented and full of potential, but suggests that the poet's aspirations to whiteness are a sad reality that continues to inhibit the celebration of Black art and Black life. Many have speculated that this poet was Countee Cullen, who was known to disagree with Hughes over the utility of poetry. That is, Cullen frequently argued that he aspired to describe beauty above all else, while Hughes's own work was notably racial and focused on a distinctly Black aesthetic.
Beginning his essay on this note allows Hughes to explain some of the nuances of Black culture in America that may have gone relatively unspoken at the time. That is, Hughes notes the difference between many Black upper middle-class families and the "low-down" Black neighborhoods of America like "Seventh street in Washington or State street in Chicago" (4). The former is likely influenced heavily by white ideals of what good art is, and Black middle-class families, Hughes argues, instill in their children a sense of appreciation for how "a white man does things" (2). Here, Hughes suggests that too many Black middle-class families have become self-loathing in regard to their own Blackness, or on a basic level have made ignoring their Blackness a central part of their identity. This urge to hide or "overcome" one's racial difference is, ultimately, the real inhibitor of beautiful, praise-worthy, and inspiring Black artistry. When Hughes turns to his description of the lower-class Black neighborhoods, his own language becomes notably more poetic and imaginative, reflecting the energy and celebration of Black life that he sees these "low-down folks" exuding. Ultimately, Hughes suggests that Black art is, indeed, fundamentally different from the "high art" of Western culture that appears in wealthy white households; Black art should instead be inspired by Black history, community, and other Black artists themselves.
