Early Life & Migration
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1902. After graduating high school in 1919, Hughes attended Lincoln University, where he began writing his signature poetry laden with black pride for The Crisis magazine. In 1921, Hughes moved to Washington, D.C., in order to pursue his writing career, becoming noticed by poet Vachel Lindsay. Since Washington was largely racially segregated, Hughes found it almost impossible to make a living and consequently, in 1924, he moved to New York.
That same year, whilst visiting his friend, artist Winold Reiss, it is believed Hughes was exposed to the “New Negro Movement,” which was an affirmative term for the Harlem Renaissance and advanced African and African American culture, art and social philosophy.
Hughes recognized this was to be the next stage in his career and literary development. He decided to remain in New York, and being enamored with Harlem and its energized culture, he never left.
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance, which Hughes considered home, was a period of artistic expression, music and literature that celebrated African-American traditions. The writers, poets and musicians of the era often used their works to challenge the racial status quo and bring vital black issues to the forefront of civil rights conversations.
The Renaissance featured a thriving literary scene, including some of Hughes’ most well-known works, such as his Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951) and The Weary Blues (1926). Ultimately, the Harlem Renaissance served as a period of artistic rebirth and reclamation of African’s American rights and its culture.
In addition to Hughes’ literary accomplishments during the era, he was associated with some of the most renowned Harlem figures. As a leader of the Harlem Renaissance and a political activist, Hughes enabled positive change within the African-American community. He was a supporter of Langston Hughes, writer and close friendof the era Zora Neale Hurston and of Marcus Garvey, who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. In addition, Hughes helped edit the African American labor newspaper The Messenger with A. Philip Randolph.
Impact of Harlem
By being involved in the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes made a big impact in the African American community as a whole. Apart from merely being a leader in the arts, Hughes was a strong advocate of the civil rights movement in general, and spoke out uncompromisingly against racism, injustice, and the existing segregation. His writing, in this respect, stands out as deeply meaningful journalism; he was was an observer and reporter of history and the human condition, and his thoughts and musings are still relevant today.
For example, his 1926 poem, “I Too” criticizes racial oppression and expresses African American resistance to it: “But I, too, sing America / I am the darker brother. / They send me to eat in the kitchen / when company comes.” Moreover, even after the success of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes continued using his writing as a vehicle for anti-racist expression. In his poem “Let America Be America Again” (1935), he simultaneously mourned and rejected the impossible expectations of many African Americans for full equality: “O, let America be America again — / The land that never has been yet — / And yet must be — the land where every man is free.”
Langston Hughes Legacy
Thanks to his legacy, Hughes is still being recognized and commemorated in many countries and cities around globe, including the United States.
As shown by the granting of the National Medal of Arts to Hughes in 1985 and the posthumous awarding of the Spingarn Medal and the Robert Frost Medal, Langston Hughes’ influence, as a cult leader, writer and poet, is still a relevant, needed and appreciated part of the artistic and African American landscape. Also, as a way of honoring his life and work, in 1996 Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., on behalf of his family and the National Endowment for the Arts, opened a new exhibition, called The Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes and His Times.
Relevance Today & Conclusion
Hughes’ writings and contributions remain relevant to the civil rights discourse, particularly today during current times of racial strife, turmoil and social unrest. This relevance is explained by Willa Johnson in her book, American Literature. Johnson laments that during the 1930s, black cultures were teaching and sharing the values of freedom and justice with one another and resistant to oppression. Johnson suggests that Hughes’ works perpetuate this tradition and continue to educate people about civil and social justice.
In conclusion, Hughes’ poetic words and influential messages of justice, tolerance and understanding still stand today, almost 100 years after his move to Harlem. His lasting influence makes him one of the most important literary figures and a leader in the civil rights movement.
