Profile of the Day: Langston Hughes

Today we remember American poet and activist Langston Hughes, who was born on this day in 1902.

Image: Langston Hughes / Library of Congress

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri to James Nathaniel Hughes and Caroline Mercer Langston. Like many African Americans, Hughes was a descendant of slaves. His maternal grandfather, Charles Henry Langston, was an abolitionist and political activist. Born free in Louisa County, Virginia, Charles Langston was the son of Ralph Quarles, a wealthy plantation owner, and Lucy Jane Langston, who was of mixed African-American and Native American heritage. In 1806, Quarles freed Lucy and her daughter, and the couple would go on to have three sons together. At the time, interracial marriage was illegal in Virginia. The couple lived together until their deaths and were buried next to each other on the Virginia planation. In his will, Quarles recognized his sons with Lucy as his legitimate heirs.

Raised by his maternal grandmother until he was thirteen, Hughes developed a love for writing poetry at an early age. He was greatly influenced by his grandmother, who instilled in him a lasting sense of racial pride. Considered one of the most important voices of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes wrote about black life in America, reflecting their experiences and culture as well as addressing the racial issues in society.

Explore Langston Hughes’s family tree on Geni and share how you’re connected to the poet. 

View Langston Hughes’s Geni Profile