Langston Hughes - Fulterius King, The Table

Today, we highlight Fulterius King, a Poet and Licensed Mental Health Therapist. Fulterius shares the significance of Langston Hughes in reflecting on societal issues through poetry, and shares a powerful poem from his book, 'Poems for Black Kings,' highlighting the theme of brotherhood among Black men.

BLK LIT Highlighted Artist: @FulteriusKing

Learn More and Pre-Order the Book: FulteriusKing.com

Connect with the Host: Jacquees Thomas @_ThatsPeace

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Jacqueese Thomas, and you're listening to black Lit,
a podcast about black literature and the stories behind the storytellers.
Vultarius King, a poet and licensed mental health therapist and

(00:21):
today's black Lit Highlight, shares his thoughts on lengths and
hughes and how important it is for art to reflect
the times. Later, he shares a poem from his book
Poems for Black Kings, now available for pre order.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Let America be America Again. The way he just connected
people from all cultures and ethnicities within that poem was
just genius to me. Every time I read that poem,
I get just emotional because it is just such a
touching poem and it's so relevant today is especially with

(01:01):
everything that's going on. But love that poem when he
says that I am the foolish, poor white man, I
am the Negro bearing slavery scars. It's just such a
powerful poem. And I would say that, and of course,
you know, dreams deferd. But I love Let America be

(01:22):
America Again. I appreciate Langston really for just using his
work to reflect the times and the words of needing
someone like artists should reflect the times and their work,
and Langston did a great deal of that and a
lot of his poems. And so I didn't even know
about the story of the Scottsboro Brothers until I read

(01:44):
The Ballad of Ozzie Powell by Langston Hughes. I didn't
know about the lynchings that took place in Mississippi for
Ernest Green and Charlie Lange until I read The Bitter
River by Langston Hughes. So he did a really great
job with making sure that his work reflected the times.
And so again I do think poetry also lends that

(02:07):
opportunity to help people to validate what's going on and
to help us also have permission to be angry and
to be sad about the things that are going on.
He spoke about every black person, not just the black
person in academia, but the beggar on the streets. And

(02:27):
so I think in a way, the system that we
live in tries to separate us, but the poems that
Langston produce and provided to us reminds us that we're
all unified. We're all stronger when we are unified. And
so of course he really used his poetry as a
way to inform and to educate people. But it was

(02:51):
also a thread of black unity within all of it.
So I think his poems are very relevant today.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
The Brotherhood Table from a book of Poems for Black
Kings written by Pultarius King.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
We black men breathe air and the laws of brotherhood
when we come together and respect each other despite our differences.
We may be from various backgrounds and cultures, but all
black men are brothers. We nurture brotherhood, we gave it
a name. Brotherhood is the first son for all kings.

(03:29):
Each of us has a hand in raising him, so
we reserve a seat for him at the table and
make sure he is fed. The businessman and the man
without a plan. Brothers who are ambitious and brothers suffering
from mental illness. The recluse and brothers enveloped in substance abuse.
The healthy, the strong, and brothers who've been told they

(03:52):
won't live long. The widow, the unconcerned, and brothers with
third degree burns. Brothers with a lot of wealth and
brothers with nothing left. The collegiately educated and the brothers
who came straight out of high school pounding the pavements.
The mute, the physically and sexually abused, the father stuck
in his ways. Conversely, you kings parenting are beautiful brothers

(04:16):
and sisters like Marlon Wayne's and Dwayne Wade, brothers in hoodies,
the popular, the bullied, the Greeks, the brands, and the
all the round family man, the Sikh, the musnom, the atheists,
the mason, the priest, the Southern Baptist preacher, the brother
with alopecia, the convicted felon the air. And you brothers
who are visually impaired, the black boy in foster care,

(04:40):
the grandfather physically challenged to make it up the stairs,
the brother with videolago, the veteran hopeful for tomorrow, the
brother with hearing loss, the artists without a car, the
wheelchair bound and physically able brothers. You are all welcome
at this table. I know that can also be a

(05:01):
setback when we as a black community create hundreds and
hundreds of tables, and I think that kind of supports
this idea of you know, we got to be divided.
You know I can't be we can't be at the
same table, but we can be at the same table.
And my intention for this poem is to let everyone know,
like this is for everyone. We're we're all stronger together.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
This was a black lit highlight. Thank you for listening.