“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” progresses through time and location, centering around four great rivers. The poem begins with the Euphrates, moves to the Congo and the Nile, and then ends with the Mississippi. Each river carries historical and geographic significance that informs the poem’s greater message.

The Euphrates River, in the area of the world now known as West Asia, is one of the world’s longest rivers and, along with the Tigris, played a role in establishing the earliest recorded human civilization. The waterways of the Euphrates (as well as the Nile) feed into the Fertile Crescent, so named for the irrigation and agriculture made possible by the water sources. The Crescent includes Mesopotamia, which in the ancient world was home to some of the earliest dynasties in human history, including the Sumerians and Akkadians. This is where human agriculture first began, facilitating an explosion of the human population over the last 10,000 years.

The poem then moves to the Congo River, which is among the most important in Africa, as it runs throughout the middle of the continent and has historically been the home and economic center of millions of people. The Congo has been a central uniting force for the Bantu peoples, who have traditionally lived along the river and in its surrounding areas.