One might believe that Langston Hughes dreamed for equality throughout the human race, he raced toward that dream by exposed his peoples’ culture to the white public and was often the voice of his people, therefore Hughes is one if the main reasons black culture is celebrated today.
Langston Hughes, or James Mercer, was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He died May 22, 1967 in New York City (Webster 209). Born with a racial background of African, French, Native American, and English ancestry, Hughes used his background throughout his life as an inspiration for his art. Hughes attended elementary school in Lincoln, Illinois. In his class, he was elected as class poet, which may have started his fame in poetry. Years later, Hughes …show more content…
Once he recognized the political and economic pressures of his age, he stopped writing about music and started writing about issues during his age (“Celebrating The Legacy of Langston Hughes). Many people in his time thought that African Americans would tell their story through tales of slavery and painting a picture of Africa. But instead, African Americans knew their story would be retold by the Harlem Renaissance (Robinson). In his literature, Hughes would balance his humor with his anger while lashing out at others’ violence and oppression, whether racial or economic (Dace). Fine Clothes to the Jew, a book of Hughes’s poetry, was castigated for the title and honesty of the content. But Hughes thought it was a step in the right direction (Webster 209). Hughes was first noticed when his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” which was written after he graduated high school. It was published in the NAACP journal Crisis in 1921 (Webster 209). “Let the blare of Negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing/Blues penetrate the closed ears of the colored near-intellectuals until they listen and perhaps understand/We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame,” Hughes wrote proudly in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Hughes’s literature wasn’t all poetry, though. His output was very diverse. He …show more content…
Hughes’s memory is lived by many places dedicated to his memory, literature collections of his, and even his land is owned by the place where he went to college. One way his impact on the world is shown is through a society that was created in 1981 called the Langston Hughes Society. The society has scholars, teachers, creative and performing artists, students, and a myriad of other people who wish to know more and raise awareness about Langston Hughes (KRISTI). Hughes was even nicknamed as “Shakespeare in Harlem” (Sundquist). He was also known as one of the first Afro-centric writers in the United States (“Celebrating The Legacy of Langston Hughes).
Because of the impact Hughes made on the world, places all around America were dedicated to him to keep his memory alive. In Cleveland, Ohio, there is a library dedicated to Hughes called the Langston Hughes Public Library (“Queens Public TV”). Another Langston Hughes Library dedicated to his memory is in Corona, Queens, New York (Rahman). After Hughes’s death at 65, his memory was not forgotten. His ashes are stored in the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Block Culture in Harlem, New York (Williams) and his land most of his works are located at Lincoln University, where he went to school
Langston Hughes, or James Mercer, was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He died May 22, 1967 in New York City (Webster 209). Born with a racial background of African, French, Native American, and English ancestry, Hughes used his background throughout his life as an inspiration for his art. Hughes attended elementary school in Lincoln, Illinois. In his class, he was elected as class poet, which may have started his fame in poetry. Years later, Hughes …show more content…
Once he recognized the political and economic pressures of his age, he stopped writing about music and started writing about issues during his age (“Celebrating The Legacy of Langston Hughes). Many people in his time thought that African Americans would tell their story through tales of slavery and painting a picture of Africa. But instead, African Americans knew their story would be retold by the Harlem Renaissance (Robinson). In his literature, Hughes would balance his humor with his anger while lashing out at others’ violence and oppression, whether racial or economic (Dace). Fine Clothes to the Jew, a book of Hughes’s poetry, was castigated for the title and honesty of the content. But Hughes thought it was a step in the right direction (Webster 209). Hughes was first noticed when his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” which was written after he graduated high school. It was published in the NAACP journal Crisis in 1921 (Webster 209). “Let the blare of Negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing/Blues penetrate the closed ears of the colored near-intellectuals until they listen and perhaps understand/We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame,” Hughes wrote proudly in “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Hughes’s literature wasn’t all poetry, though. His output was very diverse. He …show more content…
Hughes’s memory is lived by many places dedicated to his memory, literature collections of his, and even his land is owned by the place where he went to college. One way his impact on the world is shown is through a society that was created in 1981 called the Langston Hughes Society. The society has scholars, teachers, creative and performing artists, students, and a myriad of other people who wish to know more and raise awareness about Langston Hughes (KRISTI). Hughes was even nicknamed as “Shakespeare in Harlem” (Sundquist). He was also known as one of the first Afro-centric writers in the United States (“Celebrating The Legacy of Langston Hughes).
Because of the impact Hughes made on the world, places all around America were dedicated to him to keep his memory alive. In Cleveland, Ohio, there is a library dedicated to Hughes called the Langston Hughes Public Library (“Queens Public TV”). Another Langston Hughes Library dedicated to his memory is in Corona, Queens, New York (Rahman). After Hughes’s death at 65, his memory was not forgotten. His ashes are stored in the Arthur Schomburg Center for Research in Block Culture in Harlem, New York (Williams) and his land most of his works are located at Lincoln University, where he went to school