How is each poet's expression unique (Langston Hughes,“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and Claude McKay "If We Must Die")?

What makes Langston Hughes' expression unique in his poem,
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers," is his reliance on the metaphor comparing the black race
to rivers, which he is saying are both ancient, strong and enduring. In his poem, he
compares rivers that are exceptional by comparison to other rivers—including the
Euphrates, the Congo, the Nile, and the Mississippi. Each one has some distinctive
quality, with regard to depth, length, etc. Having written this poem at the age of
seventeen, it is...

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...perhaps the most profound...poems of heritage
and strength.

As Hughes
contemplates the river, he sees that it has a great deal in common with the black man.
They, too, are exceptional, and deeply rooted to the earth, from all corners of the
world. When Hughes looks at the sun shining on the Mississippi, one source
notes:

The
angle of the sun on the muddy water...turns mud into
gold.

If Langston
Hughes' poem concentrates on the history of the black man, a part of the earth itself,
Claude McKay's poem is unique because it does not call for reflection as Hughes' poem
does, but calls for action instead. In fact, it is a "call to arms," asking black men to
fight those who would kill them like they are animals. If death is to come, McKay
rallies blacks to die with honor: to fight back even if the chance of success is
slim. He wrote later that the poem "exploded out of
me."

These are very different approaches to the oppression
of the black race. Hughes seems to speak of hope born from a historic jointure with the
earth—almost as old as the earth itself: a message of connection and perseverance.
McKay's poem reflects a different and unique approach to the same issue: however his
message is to take action, meeting violence with violence if need
be.

Hughes looks to the past for grounding of the soul.
McKay looks to "fire and blood," rather than passive acceptance. Each poet's expression
is particularly unique.

Additional
Sources:

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/hughes/rivers.htm

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/mckay/mustdie.htm

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-we-must-die/