Langston’s Poems as his Voice

Poverty, discrimination, racism, and segregation did not stop James Langston Hughes to his destination. He once wrote a note to a friend named Arna Bontemps and said fame is lovely-but hard to eat. Langston had humble beginnings and was brought up in poverty. Langston used his poems and writing as his voice against prejudice and unfair treatment to African-Americans. Hughes wanted African-Americans to be recognized equal to white people. His poetry spoke truthfully about the African-Americans experiences-both the good and the bad. Langston Hughes is a remarkable poet that influence generations after generations.

Langston was born February 1, 1902, in a small town of Joplin, Missouri. He was named after his father James Hughes but he used his mother's family name. Langston's father and mother was well educated. Life was difficult and dangerous for Africans-Americans. Slavery had ended years earlier, but racial prejudice was stronger than ever. His parents went their separate ways shortly after Langston had been born. James Hughes moved to Mexico to practice law. The racial discrimination made it hard for him to success. His mother returned to her mother's home in Lawrence, Kansas, where there was extreme poverty. Unfortunately, his mother had to move around a lot to find work and it made it difficult to take care of Langston. His mother decided to leave him with his grandmother.

Langston grandmother did not have much to give, but she did give him knowledge. While he was with his grandmother Mary Patterson Leary Langston, he learned a great deal of his family history. His grandmother first married Sheridan Leary, a dedicated abolitionist who accompanied John Brown on his famous raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Mary's second husband Charles Langston was also an abolitionist, he spend most of his time speaking out for the cost of African-American Equality. He also learned about African American heroes like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. As his grandmother grew older and quieter, and kept him closer by her side, Langston turned to books for company and comfort. He later wrote that he began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in books. With his grandmother's storytelling and his love of reading it opened his eyes to having African-American pride.

Langston was 13 when his grandmother passed away. His mother sent Langston to live with his grandmother's close friends James and Mary Reed until the end of the school year. Langston would later write, there have never been any better people in the world. I love them very much. They were a great support to him after the lost of his grandmother. In the summer of 1915, his mother sent for him to live in Lincoln, Illinois, with her, his new stepfather Homer Clark and his new half brother Gwynn. Langston attends Lincoln's Central School. His teachers said he was smart and a good writer. Langston was elected for the class poet, and his task was to write a poem for his graduation ceremony. On May 31, 1916, he would make his first poetic debut. It would be the start of his journey of becoming a great poet!

Langston's family would continue to struggle to survive. Homer Clark's job as a cook did not pay very well, so he decided to go to Cleveland, Ohio, to look for work. Homer found a job in a steel mill and sent for his family. They found a damp basement apartment, but faced rasical prejudice and high rent. Langston enrolled at Central High School in 1916, the school was known to be the best public school in Cleveland. Langston found friends that were immigrants students from Russia, Hungary, Poland, and Italy. He was happy and successful there. But once again his family is spited up. Homer Clark quits his job at the steel mill because it was hard work. He left for Chicago to find a better job. Langston's mother followed her husband shorty after, leaving Langston alone in Cleveland. At fifteen he was determined to stay at Central High School, and he did so on his own. In during his junior year, 1918, he joined the staff of Monthly, the Central High School magazine, and became one of the main contributors. Langston submitted his first short story, Those Who Have No Turkey, about a family too poor to celebrate Thanksgiving. His English teacher, Ethel Weimer, knew Langston was talented and introduced him to the work of modern American poets Carl Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay, Walt Whitman. Langston later called Carl Sandburg his guiding star, he liked the language he used and his poetic form. Langston would learn to write about any subject with the world around him.

Langston graduate from Central High school on June 16, 1920. He moves to Mexico with his father James Hughes who is wealth, to convict him to pay for him to attend Columbia University. Langston only goes for one year and he felt out of place at the school. The same year he attended Columbia University he published a poem The Negro Speaks Of Rivers. Langston then travels the world write about his experience. He would sail to Africa and Europe, and he would live in Paris but work at a Jazz Club. He would win in a poetry contest like Opportunity magazine poetry.

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