--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We younger Negro artists who create now…" description: "\"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 are..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png" --- # We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express… ![“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 are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are…” quote by Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png) > “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 are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.” [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. Affirms Black artists' freedom to create authentically, indifferent to white approval, focusing on self‑validation. **In simple terms:** Create without needing others' praise. Key Takeaway Validate your own artistic truth. Themes identity artistic freedom racial pride self‑acceptance Mood proud reflective Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery exhibition - community mural - personal portfolio - online showcase Key Concepts cultural expression authenticity empowerment Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑validation with feedback? - What does artistic freedom mean to you? A Different Perspective Ignoring constructive critique can hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark skinned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-skinned/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Temples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temples/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [Top Of The Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/top-of-the-mountain/) [White people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-people/) ## Related quotes > [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-3/) [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/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [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/) > [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/) > [We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-build-our-temples-for-tomorrow-strong-as-we-know-how-and-we-stand/) [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/) > [The depression brought everybody down a peg or two. And the Negro had but few pegs to fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/the-depression-brought-everybody-down-a-peg-or-two-and-the-negro-had/) [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too. The tom-tom cries and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Langston Hughes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf9/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_1826649.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or…” — Langston Hughes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Langston Hughes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We younger Negro artists who create...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now-intend-to-express-our-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```