“Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain —
All, all the stretch of these great green states —
And make America again!”

— Langston Hughes

Let America Be America Again (1935)

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Langston Hughes 79

American writer and social activist 1902–1967

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“The steel of freedom does not stain.
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Langston Hughes (1902–1967) American writer and social activist

Let America Be America Again (1935)
Context: Sure, call me any ugly name you choose —
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From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

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