USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The message of the poem is that black Americans have labored long and hard only to look on while white Americans reap, or harvest, the benefits. Have you ever worked hard at something only to see someone else reap the benefits of your efforts?

Detailed explanation-2: -What is the metaphor behind “A Black Man Talks of Reaping, "? This is a recognizable image of slavery through field work, planting and harvesting, but this can be taken further to talking about work that is done that others “steal” from those who do not that work.

Detailed explanation-3: -Like his close friend Langston Hughes and their fellow writers in the Harlem Renaissance, Arna Bontemps explored African-American experience in a wide variety of genres. As a poet, novelist, historian, anthologist and archivist, he enriched and preserved black cultural heritage.

Detailed explanation-4: -racial inequality. Equality is denied, the children or ancestors of the speaker will be treated the same way the speaker was, feeding on inferior food compared to whites, and having less privileges.