Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.
I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
Here Hughes adds a justification to his prior lines. No longer is the tone depressed and pessimistic, it is empowering. Democracy emerges as achievable, but not “through compromise or fear”. This is Hughes implying the route to equality and democracy for blacks is through direct action. As a member of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, Hughes lays an egg that hatches into the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s with this line. The direct action Hughes dreamed of materialized during this Movement with sit-ins, bus boycotts, and voter registrations. 
 
 This picture is of a bus boycott march in the 1950s. It is one of many examples of the direct actions carried out by the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement and captures exactly what Hughes desires. These people are not sitting back and lobbying/compromising for their rights or fearful of the consequences and choosing to accept their back-of-the-bus treatment. They are taking real action.
Democracy