Father And Son by Langston Hughes (Vintage Short)

This short story by Langston Hughes is rich in History. What does Langston Hughes leave out? Nothing. The short story takes place in Georgia. Bert is born to the White master of the plantation. His mother is a Negro or Black woman who is Norwood's mistress. Of all the children born to him, Bert is the lightest one. So many issues to discuss and think about all relevant to how Black people socialize with White people and how Black people interact with one another now, today. Of course, this is not new knowledge. All of us know about miscegenation. It's just that the scars of our History must never become raked aside as old knowledge versus new knowledge. History helps us know ourselves better. The better we know ourselves, the better we will treat one another. Also, love between different races is beautiful. The problem is many people hate it, feel shame and hurt other people for choosing to love someone from a different culture.

It breaks my heart to read that Bert wasn't allowed to carry his father's name, Norwood. His father seemed to feel his love for a Black woman in the light of day was something horrid. My question is how or what did he think about while loving her in an intimate fashion? I hate to think that he misused her body. I'm wondering if at the end of the story Norwood will ever detest himself for his actions and change toward his son and other biracial children.

Bert had to use his mother's last name, Lewis. This fact surely must enter into the way we research our family records today. Now I know the importance of facing the all of History. Our ability to learn and accept the past will determine how well we will come to know our whole selves.

How were Black people identified in household records? Sure, there is the knowledge that Black slaves were named on the list with the horses and other livestock. What else? What names were used if they were fathered by a white man or woman or black man or woman? Perhaps, this fact alone can bring those African Americans closer to their true identity. Without the true knowledge of our identity surely that must dampen our self esteem.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-miscegenation_laws_in_the_United_States

"But it was the Colonel's dislike of Bert that had kept him there, summer and winter, until now...And he was never homesick for the plantation--but he did wish sometimes that he had a home, and that the Colonel would treat him like a son."