Langston Hughes – Poet, Novelist, Playwright and Columnist
His father left the family soon after Langston’s birth, and his mother traveled looking for work, so his maternal grandmother primarily raised him in Lawrence, Kansas. After Hughes’ grandmother died, he moved with his mother in Cleveland, Ohio, until he graduated high school. Langston enrolled at Columbia University in 1921, just as the Harlem Renaissance was coalescing. The Black cultural movement would become a period of outstanding artistic and literary achievement by Black artists such as Hughes, Wallace Thurman, Countee Cullen, Arna Bontemps, and Zora Neal Hurston. These creatives experimented with themes of race, class, gender, and sexuality in their work and lives that had previously been taboo.
Contributor: Dr. Anthony Ratcliff
@blkintellectual
Recent Posts
Statement on the Ceasefire Agreement in Palestine
Our hearts are a bit lighter and we join in celebrating a small feeling of relief for our Palestinian relatives who have been subjected to what is nothing short of genocide…
Statement on Dr. Cornel West Joins the Board of Black Lives Matter Grassroots
“What an honor to have Dr. Cornel West join the leadership of Black Lives Matter Grassroots. There is no one whose life, work, and wisdom serves as a stronger guide. We have been in community with Dr. West since our formation in 2013 and are grateful to finally make it official.” says Dr. Melina Abdullah, Co-Founder and Director, Black Lives Matter Grassroots…
Statement on Jordan Neely
On May 1, 2023 #JordanNeely was lynched in broad daylight for the crime of being Black, unhoused, & possibly suffering from mental illness by a white supremacist vigilante named Daniel Penny…
