"we shall not always plant while others reap the golden increment of bursting fruit, nor always countenance, abject and mute, that lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; not everlastingly while others sleep shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, not always bend to some more subtle brute. we were not made eternally to weep. the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark, white stars, is no less lovely being dark; and there are buds that cannot bloom at all in light, but crumple, piteous, and fall. so in the dark we hid the heart that bleeds, and wait, and tend our agonizing needs." in context, the expression "hold their brothers cheap," is best interpreted as

The Black Tower is a poem that was written in a time when social life for African American people was extremely restrictive and this is reflected in several lines, and the meaning of this is that African American had to be in a lower level while white people kept on restricting them and how even among themselves there was a strong attitude of self-control and alienation from a lot of benefits and opportunities.

I believe the best answer is letter c. black and white contribute equally to the beauty of the night sky.

Explanation:

Claude McKay was an important writer and poet of the Harlem Renaissance. In the excerpt we are analyzing here, McKay is expressing that both, black and white, are beautiful. He talks of the night being black and, for that reason, relieving the white stars. Stars are often used in literature as symbols for beauty and vivaciousness. Still, McKay says, "the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark,/ white stars, is no less lovely being dark." The night itself is beautiful, lovely as the stars are lovely, even in its blackness. Black and white have the same power, the same potential for beauty. The night sky is beautiful not just because of the white of the stars, but also because of the black of the night itself.

In context, the expression "The night, whose sable breast relieves the stark, / White stars, is no less lovely being dark;" is best interpreted as in the night, we can regenerate ourselves, that although dark, at night, we can go deep in our feelings to born again stronger. At night, "we hid the heart that bleeds, And wait, and tend our agonizing needs."

We use the darkness of the night to clear up our pain and to heal in solitude in order to be reborn when the sunlight comes out.