How Did Langston Hughes Influence The Harlem Renaissance

674 Words3 Pages

Dhrumi Patel
Period:4
Mrs.Blanke
Mrs.Hnasko
English Lit IV A
Research Paper
Langston Hughes Influence on the Harlem Renaissance

“Democracy” by Langston Hughes was written during the Harlem Renaissance and left a great impact on it. It helped people stay true to their traditions and made people want to fight for their equality. His real name was James Mercer Langston Hughes and was born on February 1, 1902, in Joplin, Missouri. His parents got a divorce when he was a young child. His father then moved to Mexico because of all the racism that was being directed towards the African Americans during that time. James was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen years old .She would often tell him stories that would make him feel proud to be an African American. It was during this time that James started to feel close to his heritage and it made him feel like he was a part of something. Then he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her new husband. It was in Illinois that Hughes started to write poetry. Then eventually, the family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. When he graduated from High school, he spent a year in Mexico with his father and then spent a year at Columbia University in New York City. During that time,he had many different jobs such as an assistant cook, …show more content…

It addressed the issues that were faced by African Americans in the United States during that time . Langston Hughes' poem encouraged people not to take the issue of democracy lightly and to fight for their rights. He did not directly talk about race, but a huge part of his work had to do with life for African Americans in the United States. Hughes was often criticized for portraying life in such a negative fashion. However, his writing was politicized, and as such, he sought to produce poems with a message. He showed that in order to get equal rights, one must fight as hard as they can and that usually things don't get handed