Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri, to his parents James Hughes and Carrie Langston. Hughes was raised by his grandmother, Mary Langston, until her death in 1914. Inspired by Carl Sandburg, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Walt Whitman, Hughes began writing poetry while he still attended high school in Cleveland, Ohio. Hughes briefly attended Columbia University in New York City, but left due to the racism he experienced. His experiences at Columbia did allow him to experience the growing arts movement in Harlem, New York.29
Hughes was a prolific writer known for his work in multiple genres. He was most known for his poetry, specifically for being the inventor of jazz poetry, a genre that mimicked the sound of the musical genre of the same name. He was known for such poems as The Weary Blues and Let America Be America Again. Across all genres, Hughes’ work dealt with the African American experience. He once stated, “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.”30 In his thirties, Hughes dabbled in playwriting when he and Zora Neale Hurston developed the 1930 production Mule Bone. He wrote for musicals as well. At different periods of his life, Hughes wrote for newspapers focusing on issues facing African Americans such as segregation and Jim Crow laws.31
In considering Hughes’ identity, writer Andre Bagoo presented several interesting thoughts regarding who Hughes was and how he identified. While he identified as African American, his family line did include white and Native American family members. While never identifying as gay, Bagoo cited letters from Hughes to Alain Locke with references to Walt Whitman’s poems including “Song of the Open Road” and “Calamus.” The poems are often considered to have homosexual tones to them.32 Among the ones who knew him personally, Locke identified as gay.33 Biographer Arnold Rampersad suggests that Hughes presented and identified as asexual.34 The lens of identity is one way to examine the meaning of Hughes’ written words.
On May 22, 1967, Langston Hughes died from medical complications stemming from the treatment of prostate cancer.35 Since his death, Hughes has been remembered in a number of ways including his written work. Besides this, one of his poems, “I, Too,” was written on the wall of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Also, Hughes’ home in Harlem located on East 127th Street was recognized as a New York City landmark since 1981.36
