I, Too

“I, Too” is a poem built on contrasts. The poem contrasts the “darker brother” (Line 2) with the undescribed “they,” or white people. The poem contrasts those who sit at the table, meaning they have power, with those who eat in the kitchen, meaning that they lack it. The poem also contrasts the inequality of the past with the coming equality of the future.

Hughes designs these contrasts to represent the dynamic between white and Black people in America. Those whose skin color supposedly does not define them are the default—the people who own the table and all the food at it. Yet their power is superficial: As the speaker explains, when they send him away, his first reaction is to laugh. He knows their power is superficial. He knows it is not real or based on any legitimate stake or natural law. Because the speaker understands this, he is confident that one day, this power dynamic will shift, and because of his efforts to strengthen himself in the shadows, he will destroy the power dynamic.

The imagery at the beginning of the poem also brings to mind historical images of house slaves, slave owners or wealthy white families, and Black domestic servants.