The speaker of “I, Too” is most likely a confident, determined Black man in the face of racism and exclusion. He is sure that one day in the near future, or “Tomorrow,” he will have a seat at the table with the people who ostracize him (8). He is clearly preparing himself for this day so that he can be well and strong. He is assertive and insistent that he is also America, and will not be excluded from it.

However, the tonal shift between stanza three and stanza suggests that the speaker may not be as convinced of this bright future as it may seem. The speaker digresses “Besides, they’ll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed—” (15-17). Perhaps, by the end of the poem, the speaker’s confidence that there will be social equality for African Americans has waned. Furthermore, Hughes does not explicitly...