Langston Hughes
Thursday Throwback Snapshot
"The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people."
Langston Hughes wrote this poem at twenty-one. He called it "My People."
Langston began fighting for people from a young age. In eighth grade, one of Langston's teachers segregated her classroom, telling the black students to sit in a separate row. Langston, in turn, put cards on each desk of this row with the label Jim Crow Row on them. Then he ran outside into the schoolyard and yelled that his teacher had created a Jim Crow Row.
The school expelled Langston for his actions. But his mother, who was not one to back down when experiencing racism, went to the school administration. Soon, Langston was back in class, and the segregated row was gone.
In many ways, this experience set the tone for Langston's life. He was going to stand up against wrongs, particularly inequality. But while Langson faced and would face much racism, he believed in America and what he called the American Dream. The Dream being equality. Though he would ask, "What happens to a dream deferred?"
Langston became a writer, dedicating many of his works to this question and helping the country come closer to achieving the Dream. Standing up for everyone, he wrote in one poem,
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,
I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars.
I am the red man driven from the land,
I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—
And finding only the same old stupid plan
Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.
Early Years
Langston was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1901, to Carrie M. Langston and James N. Hughes. His ancestry was a mix of African American, Native American, and white heritage. But while diverse in cultures, consistent across the generations were values passed down of the importance of education and fighting for freedom and equality.