Hughes, like numerous African Americans, endured segregation, oppression, and marginalisation. In his poetry, Hughes interrogates the dire social conditions of the Black community. Hughes’ poetry not only documents the widespread racism that fosters hostile environments for black people but also explores potential remedies to this issue. This study analyses the inequitable social dynamics and power relations between whites and blacks as depicted in Hughes’ poetry and examines how the pluralistic politics expressed therein contribute to the improvement of social reality in America. This study attempts to investigate three specific questions: What creates America’s unjust social reality? What are the pluralistic politics proposed in Hughes’ poetry? And in what ways might pluralistic politics assist in enhancing the social reality in America? A dataset of 40 poems was analysed using thematic, Fairclough’s, and van Dijk’s critical discourse methodologies. The data analysis indicated that the inequitable reality depicted in Hughes’ poetry stems directly from a white-centred ideology. Beliefs in whiteness contribute to the establishment of white supremacy and perpetuation of black inferiority. These beliefs manifest in racist actions and policies. The findings reveal that Hughes’ pluralistic framework encompasses interest group pluralism, emphasising civil rights, equitable resource allocation, and equitable voting rights. This framework regards compromise as a form of negotiation. Hughes’ pluralistic politics offer insights into the creation of safe spaces within a presumably pluralistic society. This study provides a novel analysis of the power dynamics between whites and blacks as portrayed in Hughes’ poetry, offering an in-depth investigation of the pluralistic ideologies expressed within it.
Hughes, like numerous African Americans, endured segregation, oppression, and marginalisation. In his poetry, Hughes interrogates the dire social conditions of the Black community. Hughes’ poetry not only documents the widespread racism that fosters hostile environments for black people but also explores potential remedies to this issue. This study analyses the inequitable social dynamics and power relations between whites and blacks as depicted in Hughes’ poetry and examines how the pluralistic politics expressed therein contribute to the improvement of social reality in America. This study attempts to investigate three specific questions: What creates America’s unjust social reality? What are the pluralistic politics proposed in Hughes’ poetry? And in what ways might pluralistic politics assist in enhancing the social reality in America? A dataset of 40 poems was analysed using thematic, Fairclough’s, and van Dijk’s critical discourse methodologies. The data analysis indicated that the inequitable reality depicted in Hughes’ poetry stems directly from a white-centred ideology. Beliefs in whiteness contribute to the establishment of white supremacy and perpetuation of black inferiority. These beliefs manifest in racist actions and policies. The findings reveal that Hughes’ pluralistic framework encompasses interest group pluralism, emphasising civil rights, equitable resource allocation, and equitable voting rights. This framework regards compromise as a form of negotiation. Hughes’ pluralistic politics offer insights into the creation of safe spaces within a presumably pluralistic society. This study provides a novel analysis of the power dynamics between whites and blacks as portrayed in Hughes’ poetry, offering an in-depth investigation of the pluralistic ideologies expressed within it.