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"I, Too" by Langston Hughes

Like “Thank You, M’am,” Langston Hughes’s 1926 poem “I, Too” uses a motif of shared meals to illustrate power dynamics between people. While “Thank You, M’am” uses an intimate meal to build a relationship of mutual respect between two individuals, in “I, Too,” the speaker uses an image of the exclusion of Black servants from meals as a metaphor for the exclusion of Black people from full participation in American society. 

“The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes 

“Weary Blues” and “Thank You, M’am” both refer to the crucial importance of community connection. Hughes’s 1925 poem “Weary Blues” shows the value of public spaces for community gatherings, in this case, a nightclub, while “Thank You, Ma’am” demonstrates the power of more intimate connections between individuals to strengthen and heal the community.

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes 

Like “Harlem” (1951), Hughes’s most well-known poem, “Thank You, M’am” addresses the erosion of morale brought on by oppressive living conditions experienced by Black people in twentieth-century America. Roger’s character in the story seems on the brink of the kinds of potential degeneration Hughes lists in the poem, including the explosion of violence.

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