AI Statement
AI was not used for any part of this work.
Abstract
This piece was inspired by the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” by Langston Hughes. Assigned in my African American Literature (ENGL 2300) class, Hughes’s poem stuck with me, prompting me to create my own unique version, one encompassing all marginalized groups. This poem personifies the struggle for rights for African Americans (and others within the diaspora), and the long, arduous, and selective process of becoming recognized as equal, a fight ongoing to this day. The separation of each group (not only by race, but also by gender) is explored throughout the piece, touching on important historical movements, such as the creation of the 13th, 15th, and 19th Amendments. Fundamentally, we are all human and equal at the end of the day, a realization everyone must make in order to fully enact justice in America.
Recommended Citation
Darden, Samuel B.
(2026)
"Waiting Rivers,"
FUSION: Vol. 3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/fusion/vol3/iss1/2