The short story “One Friday Morning” by Langston Hughes is about a young African American girl, Nancy Lee, who recently moved to the north with her parents so they may provide her with a better life and schooling. Extremely talented in watercolor painting, she aspired to make that her major in college. Because of racial discrimination, she was denied the scholarship that would have been her ticket to a brighter future. Sadly, there are some people in the world that are blinded by race and forget how America was supposed to be a place with equal rights and justice for all. Langston Hughes brings in themes like racism, equal rights between human beings, racial and national pride, and of course the American dream. His biggest aim is to show the world how colored people are treated and that present day America doesn’t fulfill the American dream of all men being equal.
Nancy Lee may be a colored girl, but at times she forgets she has a different skin color than the rest of her classmates. Her peers overlook her race as well, they see her as nothing but a young and talented individual. Nancy Lee painted an award winning piece of art worthy of a scholarship to an art institute. The painting was of her grandmother sitting on a park bench looking at the American flag on a bright sunny day. This represents a dream that Nancy Lee wanted to express; that all people are equal and deserve to be treated as such. Unfortunately, the art institute didn’t realize that Nancy Lee was a colored girl at the time they chose her painting. When it was made known, they decided to give the scholarship to a white student. They felt if Nancy Lee were to attend the Institute, it would cause controversy amongst others.
On the day Nancy Lee was to receive the award, she was told by her principal Miss O’Shay that she would not be able to accept this essential scholarship solely because of the color of her skin. Miss O’Shay regrettably informed