In the poem, " The Negro Speaks of Rivers," by Langston Hughes, he uses the rivers as a symbol of their journey. In the line, " I heard the singing of the Mississippi," he uses personification to make the river sing. The singing river shows the emotions of the African American people. Singing has always been an accepted way of expressing emotion within the African American race. In the line, My soul has grown deep like the rivers," is a simile. It compares his soul to the flow of the rivers. He learns from his experiences and his struggles has molded him. Langston Hughes uses figurative language to illustrate that Black Lives Matter.