The history behind the Langston Hughes poem used in the Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing
Sen. Cory Booker quoted the lines to support Supreme Court nominee Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing. Hughes' poem is a searing look at race and class in America.
"O, let America be America again--
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free."
That line comes from Langston Hughes' poem "Let America Be America Again," first published in in 1936. It's a long poem), that captures the wide swath of feelings from members of the under class begging America to fulfill its stated promises. It was deeply relevant then, and still is today — as evidenced by Sen. Cory Booker yesterday quoting the poem in support of Supreme Court nominee Kentaji Brown Jackson during her second day of confirmation hearings.
