Black History Month: Scenes From The Harlem Renaissance

There’s no doubt that Langston Hughes was the central character of this period.  The prolific writer first came to Harlem as a student of Columbia University (from which he dropped out) and returned following his graduation from Lincoln University in 1929.

Although many people these days know Hughes for his poem, “A Dream Deferred,” he has published 16 books of poems, three collections of short stories, and two novels during his active career. And that’s not mentioning the operas, plays, fiction and edited anthologies he also produced. Hughes’ message was one of self-distinction and liberation from Eurocentric expectations. He once wrote, “I am ashamed for the black poet who says, ‘I want to be a poet, not a Negro poet,’ as though his own racial world were not as interesting as any other world.” Hughes wrote about Black society and culture and inspired other artists to do so as well, whether it involved racism, politics, or the everyday struggles of Blacks.