Langston Hughes and The Harlem Renaissance

Renowned individuals often follow their first dreams from their childhood, demonstrating proficiency in a particular field of interest – not Langston Hughes. Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 and passed away on May 22, 1967, and aspired to be a mining engineer. His full name was James Mercer Langston Hughes. However, his legacy as an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist still resonates with modern society. Hughes published his first poem in 1912. Interestingly, he was of mixed race; his grandmother appeared to be of Indian descent, and other parts of his family were of different ethnicity and race. That being said, Langston Hughes was a poet who often shared his racial convictions, yet, race ultimately did not influence his writing significantly, if at all. In fact, to Hughes, “it has seemed to me that most people are generally good, in every race and in every country where I have been.” No matter what the surrounding milieu thought about him, he refused to let race influence his work. Hughes’ racially diverse ethnicity shaped his character into an individual that ultimately fought for African American equality through his literary works.