These quotes from Langston Hughes are a tribute to mark the 40 year anniversary of his passing. Although I did not discover the writings of Mr. Hughes until the late 1960’s, I especially like his series of books about Jesse B. Semple, often called Simple, published in the 1950’s. This lead to finding and reading more from this popular author.
James Mercer Langston Hughes was born February 01, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri and died of cancer on May 22, 1967. For all but 3 years of his life he was not allowed to drink out of public water fountains, eat in restaurants or get a hotel room in the southern part of the United States. Against all odds, he attended college, traveled around the world and published books of poetry, fiction, non-fiction as well as plays. Much of what Langston Hughes wrote reflected the conditions of being black in US of A and growing up in era when Jim Crow laws were accepted practice. Three Langston Hughes quotes that express this are:
“I swear to the Lord, I still can’t see, why democracy means, everybody but me.”
“We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.”
“As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me — although you’re older and white — and somewhat more free.”
Like all renowned writers he lives on through his poetry and the characters he created. Mr. Hughes was an outspoken political activist during his lifetime andis often the subject of Black History Month articles. His home on 20 East 127th Street in Harlem, New York was given landmark status and the block on 127th Street where he lived was renamed “Langston Hughes Place” to honor him. He was featured on a United States Post Office Black Heritage Stamp in 2002. California LA’s Aviation Station Metro rail stop has my favorite Langston Hughes poem etched in glass. It is:
Does it dry up,
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore–
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags,
like a heavy load.
Or does it just explode?
One of the best known quotes from Langston Hughes is:
“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken winged bird, That cannot fly.”
Less known is how the poem continues:
“Hold fast to dreams, For when dreams go, Life is a barren field, Frozen with snow.”
Having achieved his dream to write Lanston Hughes is an inspiration to people of all colors. He tells us:
“Reach up your hand~and take a star.”
“I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.”
“I will not take ‘but’ for an answer.”
Truly do not have to be a person of color to relate to this quote:
“It’s such a Bore Being always Poor.”
He also gives us a prescription for dealing with life’s inequities:
“Humor is laughing at what you haven’t got when you ought to have it.”
“Like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you.”
“Humor is when the joke’s on you but hits the other fellow first –before it boomerangs.”
If Mr. Hughes were alive today, I wonder how he would have handled Don Imus’ attempt at humor gone terribly wrong. One of his thoughts on censorship was:
“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”
Might not laughing about what hurts have been a better course of action than having the man fired for his big gaffe? The boomerang effect is that the hurtful phrase is now well-known and bigots are using it in derogatory ways. They may be thinking:
“Looks like what drive me crazy have no effect on you. But, I’m going to keep at it. Till it drives you crazy too.”
Or is this a case of enough is enough? Consider this Langston Hughes quote:
“Negroes – sweet and docile, meek, humble, and kind: Beware the day – they change their mind.”
The world is a better place because Langston Hughes did not defer his dream, but lived it. He often used humor in his works while covering serious subjects. He has this to say about being the Class Poet in elementary school.
“…our English teacher was always stressing the importance of rhythm in poetry. Well, everyone knows — except us — that all Negroes have rhythm, so they elected me as class poet.”
Life has changed considerably since 1902 when Mr. Hughes was a newborn child. The situation for “negroes” has much improved since his death in 1967. Although the language used in his books may be antiquated, much of what he wrote can be applied to our lives today. I imagine Langston sitting up on a cloud looking down, smiling as old-timers take a walk down memory lane and new generations get a taste of the flavor of yesterday through his words.
