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Primary Source Review: Langston Hughes

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Primary source review: Langston Hughes. “The African American Artist and the Racial Mountain” was written by Langston Hughes. He was born February 1, 1901 in Joplin, Montana (History). Over the years, Hughes was drawn to poetry as his father was also a prolific writer at the time (Graves,22). After he graduated from high school he went to Columbia University (Poet,4). It was in the year 1926 that Langston Hughes released his first book Knof (poets,1). He wrote, “The American Artist and the Racial Mountain” as a way to bring the racial battle that African Americans were facing to light and highlight the social standard of Social Darwinism (Graves,21). Throughout History Langston Hughes has been more closely associated with the movements rather than …show more content…

“The African American Artist and the Racial Mountain” was written in the year 1926. Langston Hughes was inspired to write this excerpt to highlight the continuous, African-American oppression that continued long after the abolishment of slavery (Hughes,1). During the Harlem Renaissance, many African-Americans had been freed from slavery, and were looking to move north, also known as the great migration, seeking new jobs and opportunities for better life(Graves,17). The Great Migration ultimately led to the Harlem Renaissance as many African-Americans sought to congregate in cities and towns, ultimately causing an influx in cultural diversity and African-American influence (Graves,17). During the era of the Harlem Renaissance, African-Americans were empowered by the 369th Harlem Hellfighters (Graves, 39). An African-American group of soldiers, who sought to not only defend their country, but bring awareness as pioneers of the African-American community in the armed forces (Graves, 39). A major turning point in “The African-American Artist and the Racial Mountain” was when another young African American, poet, told Hughes that he, had no intentions on being an African-American poet,

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