The two videos below provide good cultural/historical background for understanding Hughes’ poetry in the context of the Harlem Renaissance.

Consider how Hughes’ poetry represents some of the experiences of the Harlem Renaissance.

There are many videos that offer interpretations of Hughes’ poetry.  The few below present their author’s individual interpretations; please note that yours may differ.

This video offers a reading of Hughes’ Freedom.

Hughes’ I, Too is often discussed as a response to Walt Whitman’s I Hear America Singing, a response that addresses the African American experience that Whitman did not represent.  If you’re interested, here’s the text of Whitman’s poem:

I Hear America Singing

  I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
  Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
  The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
  The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
  The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
      singing on the steamboat deck,
  The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as
      he stands,
  The wood-cutter’s song, the ploughboy’s on his way in the morning,
      or at noon intermission or at sundown,
  The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,
      or of the girl sewing or washing,
  Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
  The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young
      fellows, robust, friendly,
  Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.