Life

“Midway” by Naomi Long Madgett (1959)

“Midway” is one of Madgett’s more popular and well-known poems; it pertains to the Civil Rights Movement. In a comment Madgett added at the conclusion of the poem, she acknowledges that she wrote the poem in 1958, and it later appeared in Freedomways in 1959. While “Life” might have more of a pessimistic or defeated tone, “Midway” shares a message of motivation and progress despite life’s obstacles.

“Alabama Centennial” by Naomi Long Madgett (1965)

Just like “Midway,” this poem also focuses on the Civil Rights Movement. The poem first appeared in Madgett’s 1965 collection Star by Star. In her poem, Madgett’s speaker advocates for resistance and action in support of the American Dream for all.

“Cross” by Langston Hughes (1926)

Langston Hughes served as Madgett’s mentor from when she was a teenager, so it is only fitting that one of his poems is included for further reading. “Cross” was first published in Hughes’s first collection of poetry, The Weary Blues (1926). This particular work shows how Hughes also took race and the ensuing effects of prejudice as a point of focus; in the text, the speaker muses about his place in society with a white father and a Black mother.