TOW #6: Bop by Langston Hughes

            Well known for his African American themes that are highly prevalent in his works, Langston Hughes is an American poet, novelist, and playwright that has made significant contributions to the literature of the Harlem Renaissance. One of his early pieces, Bop, is a dialectic exchange between two characters who discuss the emotional and cultural significance of bop music. This short essay delves deep into the racial contrast on how the traditionally African-American music is delivered depending on the singer’s skin tone. This is due to the difference in experiences that blacks and whites have encountered based on the prejudice behind their races. The crucial argument that Simple, the narrator’s teacher, makes is that be-bop traces back to the abuse and discrimination that African Americans had faced and therefore is more than just nonsense syllables.

Mentions Dizzy Gillespie, a famous jazz trumpeter

            Hughes’ intention to highlight the racial issues in the American culture is successfully delivered to the public who is predominantly unaware of the struggles behind black discrimination through the direct conversation between the two characters, Simple and the narrator. When the narrator deplores Simple for his taste in “nonsense music,” Simple explains that white folks do not understand how to successfully perform be-bop due to their inexperience of the struggles that black people endeavored. Simple continues to state that “White folks do not get their heads beat just for being white. But me—a cop is liable to grab me almost any time and beat my head—just for being colored" (Hughes, 191). This portion is major in his rationale for the difference in the meaning of be-bop between colored people and white people. The contrast in treatment based on race reinforces the notion that white people are unable to fully comprehend bop music because they haven’t experienced the same hardship as African Americans.

            The author sheds light onto the injustice the blacks faced through the perspective of Simple to build credibility without having the audience question the character’s connection to the African-American identity. In a time period where blacks were deemed inferior in comparison to whites, Hughes’ revolutionary essay greatly influenced the perception of minorities in the Harlem Renaissance.