☞ MEET: Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was the literary leader of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920's. Brooklyn formerly had Walt Whitman as their poet, and Langston represented the voice of Harlem until his death in 1967. Mr. Hughes was one of the first African American writers who focused on cultural pride and the daily African American experience when writing about such concepts were new and unpopular. The city of New York honored his memory by naming the street he lived on "Langston Hughes Place," and landmarking his home. His ashes have also been placed under a memorial in the Schomburg Center of Harlem.

I, too, sing America

I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.

Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.

Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--

I, too, am America.