--- 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/33a/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_2025751.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 aren?t it doesn?t matter.” quote by Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_2025751.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_2025751.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33a/langston-hughes-1527_art_we-younger-negro-artists-who-create-now_2025751.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 aren?t it doesn?t matter.” [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. Artists should portray their true selves unapologetically, regardless of external approval. **In simple terms:** Express yourself without fear of judgment. Key Takeaway Create authentic work despite audience reaction. Themes identity art race authenticity Mood defiant proud Type artistic social When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - social media posts - public performances - community workshops Key Concepts self‑representation cultural expression Questions to Reflect On - How does authenticity affect audience reception? - What risks arise from confronting stereotypes? A Different Perspective May be misinterpreted or dismissed by dominant cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [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/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [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-2/) [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [Got a light skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson, Got a dark skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/got-a-light-skinned-friend-look-like-michael-jackson-got-a-dark/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [My one thing is that I won't do the sun. I stay away. I will get a little and then come back inside. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedella-marley/my-one-thing-is-that-i-won-t-do-the-sun-i-stay-away-i-will-get-a/) [Cedella Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedella-marley/) > [After embracing Islam in 1977, I considered the majority of underprivileged dark-skinned people of the so-called Third World brothers and sisters in humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-stevens/after-embracing-islam-in-1977-i-considered-the-majority-of/) [Cat Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-stevens/) > [In my country - even though we have a lot of dark-skinned people - people think the lighter you are, the better you are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khoudia-diop/in-my-country-even-though-we-have-a-lot-of-dark-skinned-people-people/) [Khoudia Diop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khoudia-diop/) > [I have a thick skin, which comes from being a not-really-skinny, dark-skinned Indian woman. I haven't fit in every place, and so I'm kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-have-a-thick-skin-which-comes-from-being-a-not-really-skinny-dark/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I’m a black woman who is from Central Falls, Rhode Island. I’m dark skinned. I’m quirky. I’m shy. I’m strong. I’m guarded. I’m weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-m-a-black-woman-who-is-from-central-falls-rhode-island-i-m-dark/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [“Being that the \*historical\* Jesus was of pure Hebraic descent- lineage of Eber- He was not an Arab or of Arabic descent, therefore He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/being-that-the-historical-jesus-was-of-pure-hebraic-descent-lineage/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [A child who can love the oddities of a fantasy book cannot possibly be xenophobic as an adult. What is a different color, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/a-child-who-can-love-the-oddities-of-a-fantasy-book-cannot-possibly/) [Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/) > [For black people who are really dark - and a lot of black people were averse to be dark skinned - it was believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/for-black-people-who-are-really-dark-and-a-lot-of-black-people-were/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [“She was tall and dark-skinned and looked like a Nigerian sculpture. She moved like a lioness, her every step bristling with suppressed violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-greer/she-was-tall-and-dark-skinned-and-looked-like-a-nigerian-sculpture/) [Bonnie Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-greer/) > [Whether chocolate or vanilla, or you're somewhere in between, A cappuccino mocha or a caramel queen, Rejected by the black, not accepted by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murs/whether-chocolate-or-vanilla-or-you-re-somewhere-in-between-a/) [MURS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murs/) ## 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. 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