History in Langston Hughes's "Negro" The topic of Langston Hughes's "Negro" deals with an extremely general description of the history of African Americans or blacks from the pre-1922 era until 1922. Hughes lets the reader know about historic experiences of blacks to show us the impact that blacks have had in past eras. He touches on past, historical events, like the days of "Caesar" and the "Belgians...in the Congo" (5 and 15). The murderous oppression that Hughes speaks about uncovered when he says, "They lynch me still in Mississippi" (16). Hughes has made his poem more understandable by the use of such elements as setting