, co-authored by Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, is an important African American narrative and a classic of multicultural children’s literature.
Langston Hughes traveled to Haiti in April 1931 and lived in Port-au-Prince for about three months. He observed the ongoing brutal occupation of the country by U.S. Marines (which ran from 1915 to 1934), along with the economic exploitation of the independent black republic by white supremacist nations. In an article for New Masses titled “People Without Shoes”, he recorded the appalling results of both: “A fruit tree for Wall Street, a mango for the Occupation, coffee for foreign cups, and poverty for its own black workers and peasants” (22).
Langston Hughes traveled to Haiti in April 1931 and lived in Port-au-Prince…
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Citation: Chura, Patrick. "Popo and Fifina". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 October 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19780, accessed 21 November 2024.]
