--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The depression brought everybody down a…" description: "\"The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And the Negro had but few pegs to fall.\" — Langston Hughes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d1/langston-hughes-1527_depression_the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a_995734.png" --- # The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And… ![“The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And the Negro had but few pegs to fall.” quote by Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d1/langston-hughes-1527_depression_the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a_995734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d1/langston-hughes-1527_depression_the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a_995734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d1/langston-hughes-1527_depression_the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a_995734.png) > “The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And the Negro had but few pegs to fall.” [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how systemic oppression leaves Black people with fewer opportunities and less resilience. **In simple terms:** Black people face limited chances and setbacks. Key Takeaway Recognize and address inequities. Themes racism inequality resilience Mood somber reflective Type social commentary poetic When to use this quote - employment - education - healthcare - political representation Key Concepts social hierarchy systemic oppression Questions to Reflect On - How do structural barriers limit opportunities? - What can be done to lift marginalized groups? A Different Perspective It may overlook individual agency and community strength. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And the Negroes had but few pegs to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a-peg-or-two-and-the-negroes/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“continues: For Kit, the Depression has brought big changes: a houseful of boarders, tons of chores, and no birthday party. But when Kit’s taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-tripp/continues-for-kit-the-depression-has-brought-big-changes-a-houseful/) Valerie Tripp > [Our whole Depression was brought on by gambling, not in the stock market alone but in expanding and borrowing and going in debt... all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/our-whole-depression-was-brought-on-by-gambling-not-in-the-stock/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [It is the duty of the younger Negro artist . . . to change through the force of his art that old whispering "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/it-is-the-duty-of-the-younger-negro-artist-to-change-through-the/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Negro blood is sure powerful, because just one drop of black blood makes a colored man. One drop--you are a Negro! . . . Black is powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/negro-blood-is-sure-powerful-because-just-one-drop-of-black-blood/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro - and beautiful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/why-should-i-want-to-be-white-i-am-a-negro-and-beautiful/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [One of the great needs of Negro children is to have books about themselves and their lives that can help them be proud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/one-of-the-great-needs-of-negro-children-is-to-have-books-about/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“Of course Covarrubias wasn't a negro, but how he caught the darky spirit!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/of-course-covarrubias-wasn-t-a-negro-but-how-he-caught-the-darky/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our-2/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [If the government can set aside some spot for a elk to be a elk without being bothered, or a buffalo to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/if-the-government-can-set-aside-some-spot-for-a-elk-to-be-a-elk/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [I am a Negro: Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-am-a-negro-black-as-the-night-is-black-black-like-the-depths-of-my/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Sometimes I wish the public were equally aware of the men of our race in the cultural fields. You, for instance, have you ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/sometimes-i-wish-the-public-were-equally-aware-of-the-men-of-our-race/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/my-seeking-has-been-to-explain-and-illuminate-the-negro-condition-in/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their 'white' culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/without-going-outside-his-race-and-even-among-the-better-classes-with/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [To my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/to-my-mind-it-is-the-duty-of-the-younger-negro-artist-if-he-accepts/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) ## More by Langston Hughes > [Good morning, daddy! Ain't you heard The boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? • • • • You think It's a happy beat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/good-morning-daddy-ain-t-you-heard-the-boogie-woogie-rumble-of-a/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Summer was made to give you a taste of what hell is like. Winter was made for landladies to charge high rents and keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/summer-was-made-to-give-you-a-taste-of-what-hell-is-like-winter-was/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [I was a victim of a stereotype. There were only two of us Negro kids in the whole class, and our English teacher was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-was-a-victim-of-a-stereotype-there-were-only-two-of-us-negro-kids/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [I am the American heartbreak- The rock on which Freedom Stumped its toe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-am-the-american-heartbreak-the-rock-on-which-freedom-stumped-its-toe/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“As I Grew Older" It was a long time ago. I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, In front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/as-i-grew-older-it-was-a-long-time-ago-i-have-almost-forgotten-my/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Words Like Freedom There are words like Freedom Sweet and wonderful to say. On my heartstrings freedom sings All day everyday. There are words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/words-like-freedom-there-are-words-like-freedom-sweet-and-wonderful/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Beauty for some provides escape, who gain a happiness in eyeing the gorgeous buttocks of the ape or Autumn sunsets exquisitely dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/beauty-for-some-provides-escape-who-gain-a-happiness-in-eyeing-the/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“In America the magazines in which one can frequently publish stories or poems about Negroes are very few, and most of these do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/in-america-the-magazines-in-which-one-can-frequently-publish-stories/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Perhaps the mission of an artist is to interpret beauty to people - the beauty within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/perhaps-the-mission-of-an-artist-is-to-interpret-beauty-to-people-the/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Do you know that there are libraries in our country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/negro-writers-just-by-being-black-have-been-on-the-blacklist-all-our/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-negro-writers-just-by-being-black-have-been-on-the-blacklist-all/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that can not fly. Hold fast to dreams for when dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/hold-fast-to-dreams-for-if-dreams-die-life-is-a-broken-winged-bird/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows, Help us to see That without the dust the rainbow Would not be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/oh-god-of-dust-and-rainbows-help-us-to-see-that-without-the-dust-the/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [I loved my friend He went away from me There's nothing more to say The poem ends, Soft as it began- I loved my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/i-loved-my-friend-he-went-away-from-me-there-s-nothing-more-to-say/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [The Jewish people and the Negro people both know the meaning of Nordic supremacy. We have both looked into the eyes of terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/the-jewish-people-and-the-negro-people-both-know-the-meaning-of/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) [Explore all 230 Langston Hughes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) ## More Depression quotes > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [“my stomach turned and burned with the acid of failure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-ames/my-stomach-turned-and-burned-with-the-acid-of-failure/) Heidi Ames > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a naïve and innocent girl who thought she could tame the beast and live happily ever after. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-na-ve-and-innocent-girl-who-thought-she/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“Why in depression" "If we are human, why not have the right to smile, Why in depression, young, and beautiful as earth, Why in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanilsa-pena/why-in-depression-if-we-are-human-why-not-have-the-right-to-smile-why/) Yanilsa pena > [“Depression makes me stronger”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shayamalan/depression-makes-me-stronger/) Shayamalan > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Repression will provoke rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-williamson/repression-will-provoke-rebellion/) Hugh Williamson > [I'm certainly not a perfect mother, but I'm trying to be what my mother wasn't for me. My mother's battled depression, so I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-m-certainly-not-a-perfect-mother-but-i-m-trying-to-be-what-my/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) James Buckham Kennedy > [Scars by Papa Roach. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/) Sophielianne [Browse all 4,965 Depression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. 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