Langston Hughes: A Renaissance Man

The beginning of the 20th century many African Americans migrated from the south to the north in what we call today, the Great Migration. Many African Americans found themselves in a district of New York City called Harlem. The area known as Harlem matured into the hideaway of jazz and the blues where the African American artist emerged calling themselves the “New Negro.” The New Negro was the cornerstone for an era known today as the Harlem Renaissance (Barksdale 23). The Harlem Renaissance warranted the expression of the double consciousness of the African Americans, which was exposed by artists such as Langston Hughes. James Mercer Langston Hughes was an African American poet, journalist, playwright, and novelist whose works were

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He grew up mainly in Lawrence, Kansas but also lived in Illinois, Ohio and Mexico. Constantly having to travel he wrote his poem that would make him famous, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. Having different expectations his parents slit up resulting in him living with his maternal grandmother.

Langston Hughes was born on February 2, 1902 in Joplin Missouri, and died on May 22, 1967 in New York, New York. Hughes' African American themes helped to contribute to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, where he was a leader. He attended Columbia University and Lincoln University, published his first poem in 1921 and his first book in 1926. Hughes was a poet, playwright, novelist, and more.

His creativity is what helped shape the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance. He was considered the most popular star in his time (page 65 ). He was born February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. ( page 65). Hughes wrote poetry and most of them were written because of the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote a poem called “ The Negro Speaks of Rivers” which was written in 1920(source 2). Langston hughes had a complex ancestry, both of his great grandmothers were African American slaves and both of his great grandfathers were white slave owners in

The main theme in most of Langston Hughes’s poems is the idea of a dream and the struggles to achieve that dream as an African American. Langston Hughes focuses his writing on the actual experiences and events of the African American working class during the Harlem Renaissance. He describes the struggles that African Americans have to face in following their dreams because of the discrimination and segregation. His writings were looked down upon by many critics, no matter what race. Langston Hughes was an African American poet who wrote of the racism around him despite the critics judging his work during an era known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Through his major achievements in literature, Langston Hughes helped African Americans accept and appreciate their heritage. Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes’s early years were very difficult due to the separation of his parents. Hughes began to write poetry at the age of 14.

“James Mercer Langston Hughes, known as Langston Hughes was born February 2, 1902 in Missouri, to Carrie Hughes and James Hughes.” Years later his parents separated. Langston’s father moved to Mexico and became very successful, as his for mother, she moved frequently to find better jobs. As a child growing up Langston spent most of his childhood living with his grandmother named Mary Langston in Lawrence, Kansas. Mary Langston was a learned women and a participant in the civil rights Movement. When Langston Hughes was 12 years old his grandmother passed away. Langston then moved in with his mother and stepfather Homer Clark. A few months later, Langston’s mother sent him to live with her mother’s friend “Auntie” and Mr. Reed. In 1915

American writer and social activist Langston Hughes is known for his insightful and colorful portrayals of the black community. He was one of the founders of Jazz poetry and his work really stood out during the Harlem Renaissance, which began shortly after World War I. During this time a lot of African-Americans moved to the north especially to huge cities like New York. The Harlem Renaissance was a hub for artistic expression for African-Americans. Langston Hughes, although not the first but a strong leader that stood out in front of all the creativity making him very significant to American literary history.

Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and died on May 22, 1967 he was best known as a poet but also was a: playwright, novelist, and columnist. He played a major role as an African American in the black Harlem Renaissance, a movement of artists from that New York neighborhood that took place between 1920 and 1930 and whose best-known manifestations are in jazz, literature and painting, and that influenced the movement of blackness.

Langston Hughes was born in the year of 1902 in Joplin, Missouri to a mother and a father, who later divorced and left. Langston Hughes's mother spent most of her time looking for employment and left young Langston to be raised by his maternal grandmother, Mary Langston, in Lawrence, Kansas. Mary Langston, being a former activist for the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, passed down her experiences to Langston that gave him a sense of racial pride. This pride would later inspire him to write and

As the poem concludes, the mother uses her resilience to further encourage her son. Hughes writes “[s]o boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ’cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now—" (Hughes). As an African American in the 1920’s, everything within society was designed to create hardship or failure. The encouragement from the mother’s words is a push forward not only for an individual but for the entire African American community.

(Source 1) February 1, 1902 , Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri. His mom was a school teacher , and she introduced him to libraires, theater, and the opera. His father was a white man, who worked in a law office, then became a stenographer at a mining company. In 1903 , the year after he was born, his father abandoned his

Langston Hughes was one of the most influential american poets of his century. His main purpose writing poetry and novels was to promote social and economic equalities for African-Americans during that time period. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. As he got older, he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University to study engineering. Langston ended up dropping out of the program and decided to pursue his passion for writing. He traveled to many different places including Africa, Venice, Paris, and Genoa working as a seaman. After Langston’s countless number of odd jobs and many different adventures, he settled down temporarily in Washington D.C at the young age of 22 and published his first

The Harlem renaissance is an artistic revolutionary period that took place between 1917 and 1937. This was after the First World War. Harlem was a district in New York. The Harlem renaissance impacted the social, cultural as well as artistic aspects of the black community. Many black people were encouraged to flee the southern sides where the caste system continued to oppress the black people. At this period, racial inequalities as well as other social injustices were at their peak (Huggins 50). Many poets, singers, as well as artists, moved into Harlem where black culture was openly celebrated, and the racial restrictions were not tight. Langston Hughes was among the people who immigrated into the Harlem region. He arrived in Harlem in 1924 and played a significant role in the Harlem renaissance. He was a poet, and most of his poems represented the feelings of the black American people at the time (Hughes 150).

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement and the enlightenment of black minds as a whole. This movement sparked the minds of many leaders such as Marcus Garvey, W.E.B Dubois, and Langston Hughes, these men would also come to be known as the earliest Civil Rights activists. While Garvey and Dubois expressed their views in speeches and rallies Hughes had a different approach and chose to articulate his thoughts and views through literature more specifically poetry. Through his poetry, Hughes became a world renown poet for such works as “Let America Be America Again”, “Harlem” and “I Too” taken from his first book “The Weary Blues.” These poems while written and inspired by the everyday struggles of being an African-American were arguably targeted at white Americans. Hughes wrote a majority of his work during the Harlem Renaissance and as a result focused on “injustice” and “change” in the hopes that society would recognize their mistake and reconcile, but in order for this to happen he would have to target the right audience.