"...this is the mountain standing in the way of any true Negro art in America—this urge within the race toward whiteness, the desire to pour racial individuality into the mold of American standardization, and to be as little Negro and as much American as possible."
The main issue and argument of this essay, entitled "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," are summarized in this quote. The culture of America during the time Hughes wrote this piece, at the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance in 1926, was highly appreciative of white values and culture over those of African-Americans, even within the middle class of the latter. "White" behavior was praised, while vulgar behavior was deemed "Negro." This deep-seated prejudice against seeing Black people as producers of serious art is the "mountain" these artists must climb and conquer in order to achieve the goal of creating great art. The desire to abandon one's distinctive Blackness in favor of the homogenous culture of America was a widespread one, and one that Hughes is warning against in this essay.
"But then there are the low-down folks, the so-called common element, and they are the majority—may the Lord be praised! The people who have their nip of gin on Saturday nights and are not too important to themselves or the community, or too well fed, or too learned to watch the lazy world go round."
Here, Hughes refers to the seemingly "lower-class" Black neighborhoods that do not, unlike the middle classes, concern themselves with assimilation to white culture. These neighborhoods and people, Hughes argues, are at the heart of the production and celebration of Black art. Their perspective is the correct one, as it acknowledges that racial difference is integral to creativity and artistic production.
"Certainly there is, for the American Negro artist who can escape the restrictions the more advanced among his own group would put upon him, a great field of unused material ready for his art."
In this quote, Hughes is reminding Black artists that there is an extraordinary amount of valuable material from which to create art that already lies in their own culture. A writer who panders to the interests of white writers would cover similar subject matter in his novels and stories, both in order to appeal to a white audience and to elevate himself to the status of a white writer. Hughes argues that this conformity, however, is unnecessary and even detrimental. Black writers should not be ashamed of their racial culture; they should embrace and celebrate it. The qualities that make it distinctive are a bountiful source material for great art.
"But in spite of the Nordicized Negro intelligentsia and the desires of some white editors we have an honest American Negro literature already with us. Now I await the rise of the Negro theater. Our folk music, having achieved world-wide fame, offers itself to the genius of the great individual American Negro composer who is to come."
In this quotation, Hughes acknowledges that literature is one of the earliest artistic disciplines to develop and celebrate Black life, as evidenced by the literary figures of the Harlem Renaissance. He uses music and literature as a sign of hope for other artistic modes—namely theater and visual art—that are still attempting to break free of the pressures of white society.
"But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering 'I want to be white,' hidden in the aspirations of his people, to 'Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro—and beautiful'?"
Toward the end of the essay, Hughes imagines the work that Black artists must perform as they harness their creativity toward social ends. While Black artists face the "mountain" of prejudice before them, Hughes argues that they themselves have the ability through their art to chip away at that mountain and showcase the beauty of Black life, specifically for Black people who refuse to see the artistic merits of their race.
"If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure 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."
These are the last lines of Hughes's essay, and they give a strong challenge to the aspiring Black artist. Hughes argues that it is good to have your audience enjoy your work; it is pleasurable and gratifying, in fact. This enjoyment, however, is not the ultimate end of Black art. The goal is the breaking down of barriers and the construction of work that celebrates the beauty inherent to Blackness itself. Conquering the mountain allows the artist to free himself from the constraints of prejudice and the appreciation of others; he knows he has done something worthwhile, and that is all that matters.
