Theme for English B

I found this poem very interesting and even funny.  Although I believe there is seriousness in it that Hughes is getting at, it reminded me of something a class prankster would do to sort of stick it to the teacher.  I can almost imagine everybody in the class having to go up to the front of the classroom to read their poems and the whole class laughing because of the brilliance and sarcasm in this piece.  The whole class would clap and cheer as he sat back down and give him praise for the rest of the week at school. 

However, there is more meaning in this poem than that.  Hughes does a great job of writing a piece about racial issues without it sounding too harsh or forced.  He is very clever in the way he uses a vague English assignment to portray his feelings and experiences with the racial discrepancies.  It would have been interesting to know how this poem was perceived during the time when Hughes wrote it.  I wonder if anyone found it as entertaining as I did.