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Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes
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Langston Hughes was born
Langston Hughes was born on February 1st, 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He was the child of James Nathaniel Hughes and Caroline Mercer Langston. Hughes' parents split up while he was of young age, which caused him to spend most of his childhood with his grandmother in Kansas. -
Harlem Renaissance Begins
The Harlem Renaissance was originally called the "New Negro Movement." It was a literary and intellectual movement for African Americans that created a new black cultural identity. -
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers"
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is published in the NAACP journal Crisis. It is one of Hughes most famous works that was written by him on a train ride to Mexico where he would live with his dad for a year. -
Hughes goes to College
Langston Hughes moves to New York to attend Columbia University to study engineering. He then drops out after two semesters due to the racial discrimination he encounters while at the university. -
Civic Club Dinner
The Civic Club Dinner, sponsored by Opportunity, is held to bring black writers and white publishers together. -
Hughes gets his 1st break as a writer
Hughes encounters Vachel Lindsay sitting at a table while working as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC. Hughes gives him some of his poems and Lindsay then puts him in contact with Knopf Publishing Company. -
Vachel Lindsay
Vachel Lindsay, a white poet, reads Langston Hughes' poem to an audience at his own poetry reading and describes Hughes as a bright new talent. -
Second Book of Poems
Hughes' second book of poems called "Fine Clothes to the Jew" is published by Alfred Knopf. The title echoed a phase during Harlem about pawnshops. -
First Book of Poetry
Langston Hughes' first book of poetry called "The Weary Blues" is published by the Knopf Publishing Company. It was awarded best poem of the year for the Urban League magazine, Opportunity. -
Hughes Graduates College
Langston Hughes graduates from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. -
Hughes writes his First Play
Hughes wrote his first play, Mule Bone, with Zora Neale Hurston in 1930. He continued to write plays for the rest of his life. -
Hughes Dies
Langston Hughes dies at the age of 65 on May 22nd, 1967 in New York.
