“The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!”

—  Langston Hughes

Let America Be America Again (1935)
Context: Sure, call me any ugly name you choose —
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

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Langston Hughes photo
Langston Hughes 79
American writer and social activist 1902–1967

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