	Langston Hughes' River
	"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes
	About "The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
	The Euphrates River
	The Congo River
	The Nile River
	The Mississippi River
	Resource page with links to websites about Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance
	Resource page for the rivers and other related information
	Questions and Activities

The Mississippi River

"I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset."

The Mighty Mississippi is over 2,350 miles in length; it is the world's second largest drainage basin, encompassing 30 states and two provinces; and it is fifth in the world in terms of water volume, discharging an average of 612,000 cubic feet per second into the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, the Mississippi River is the heart of the Midwest.

The river provides habitat for 241 fish species and 37 mussel species, and its bluffs and bottomlands support 45 amphibious and reptile species and 50 mammal species. Forty percent of the nation's migratory waterfowl use the river's corridor for their flyway. The river sustains over 5 million acres of forested wetlands. It provides the Gulf of Mexico with 90% of its fresh water, critical to the viability of that body's marine resources.

The river is vital to the basin's human inhabitants as well. Many of the Heartlandís major cities were founded on the river's banks. Over 18 million people rely on the Mississippi for their daily water supply. Further, communities up and down the river use the Mississippi to discharge their industrial and municipal waste. The river generates close to $2 million annually from commercial fishing, and over $1.2 billion comes from Upper river recreation.

From: http://www.mrba.org/river/index.html Mississippi River Basin Alliance: The Mississippi River

http://www.mrba.org/ Mississippi River Basin Alliance

Mississippi River Steamboat

http://www.mrba.org/river/photos.html Mississippi River Photo Album Mississippi River Basin Alliance website

Mississippi River Basin Alliance: One People - One System

Welcome to the Mississippi River Basin Alliance Homepage. MRBA is a citizens' coalition that unites environmental justice organizations and traditional conservation groups around issues impacting the Mississippi River.

Mississippi River Museum

Mississippi River Museum: National Rivers Hall of Fame & Dubuque County Historical Society

River Road African American Museum

The River Road African American Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving and interpreting artifacts which provide positive information about the history and culture of African-Americans. The museum pays tribute to the thousands of Africans enslaved on the plantations of Louisiana. Many of their descendants continue to live in the rural communities along the Mississippi River, and visitors to the museum can research African-American ancestry in the extensive records housed here.

The American Experience: The Time of the Lincolns

PBS: The American Experience: The Time of the Lincolns. A companion to the film "Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided." Includes: Partisan Politics; Slavery & Freedom; A Rising Nation; Americans at War; A Woman's World; The Film & More; Teacher's Guide.