
The “river” is functional; it has multiple uses. “I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep” exposes the spiritual nature of the river, which brings Hughes peace. “I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it” discusses ancient Kemet and the “river” as Spirit being part of the divine cosmic order. The “river” or Spirit provided the intellect, strength and creativity for Africans to build the pyramids. “I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset” displays how the “river” or Spirit can provide freedom and liberation.

“Spirit is first and foremost; animate and inanimate life, in all its variations, amount to but differing manifestations of spirit,” states Nehusi. “However, the poor vision, understanding and self-centeredness of some humans have led them to try to place themselves at the centre, above all else and therefore outside the cosmic order.” Although Hughes might not have had in-depth knowledge of African spiritual practices, this poem suggests that there lies an ancestral memory of it given his appreciation for the “river.”
Nehusi explains (p. 370):
“It is necessary to stress that this awareness of spirituality, this oneness, connectedness and interdependence of everything in the cosmos, compelled Africans to live in respect for and in harmony with the physical environment. Humanity lives in this environment, a habitat that is absolutely necessary for sustaining life through the many indispensable resources it provides. It is therefore necessary for the environment to be recognized as a very precious resource bank which needs to be owned and managed intelligently in order to secure a decent and dignified living for all and for all times.”

“…The Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world — a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world,” states Du Bois. “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”
Chair of the African American Studies Department at Temple University Dr. Molefi Kete Asante has a critique of many of Du Bois’ works. Numerous Black or African minds are colonized because of the crimes committed by Europeans over the centuries as well as keeping intact their white supremacist systems and power structures. Through knowledge, knowledge of self, Blacks or Africans hold the key to Black liberation and the decolonization of the mind. Asante in “The Afrocentric Idea” states (p. 137), “Blackness is more than a biological fact; indeed, it is more than color: it functions as a commitment to a historical project that places the African person back on center, and, as such it becomes an escape to sanity.”

“The Europeanization of human consciousness masquerades as a universal will,” states Asante (p. 138). “Even in our reach for Afrocentric possibilities in analysis and interpretation, we often find ourselves having to unmask experience in order to see more clearly the transformations of our history.” Nehusi also has a similar sentiment in “Humanity and the Environment in Africa.” He states (p. 365), “Africa must return to itself if it is to regenerate itself and benefit from its full capacities again.” Nehusi refers to people of the African diaspora as Africa because we are belonging to it.
Hughes with his poem pays homage to the “river,” which is the antidote to Black suffering. Understanding our history is what brings Africans of the diaspora closer to the “river,” which would resolve and reverse the adverse effects on Africans caused by Europeans, white supremacists and those with anti-Black sentiment.
The “river” is representative of Black liberation.
Works Cited
1. Asante, Molefi Kete. “The Afrocentric Idea.” Philadelphia: Temple UP, 1987. Print.
2. Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt. “The Souls of Black Folk.” Oxford University Press, 2007.
3. Jemie, Onwuchekwa. “Langston Hughes: An Introduction to the Poetry.” Columbia University Press, 1976.
4. Lewis, David L., ed. “The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader.” Penguin Books, 1995.
5. Muchie, Mammo, and Kimani Nehusi. “Humanity and the Environment in Africa.” “The African Union Ten Years After: Solving African Problems with Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance.” Oxford: Africa Institute of South Africa, 2013. Print.
Melanie McCoy is a writer, painter, community activist and organizer, radio personality and the president of OAASUS (Organization of African American Studies Undergraduate Students), majoring in African American Studies at Temple University. She studies and researches methodologies and subjects such as Afrofuturism, Afrocentricity, Black female theories and sexuality.
source: atlantablackstar.com