Langston Hughes Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. He lived with his mother, Carrie Hughes and his grandmother, Mrs. Mary Leary Langston. His father, James Hughes, had left home for Mexico when Langston was a baby. He felt that his potential in the United States was limited because he was black. When Langston was five years old he, his mother and grandmother left their home in Lawrence, Kansas to join James Hughes …showed first 75 words of 485 total…

…showed last 75 words of 485 total…And grow strong. They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed- I, too, am American After reading this poem you can really get a sense of what blacks went through during that time. Langston Hughes did not only write for himself, he was writing on behalf of all blacks suffering from unequal rights. Langston's writings showed people of al colors that in order to have freedom all people have to be loved and accepted.