6 GROUNDCOVER NEWS BLACK HISTORY Early Black literary movement: the poetry of Langston Hughes and Claude McKay It would be an error of omission if we talk about the early Black literary movement without making a reference of gratitude to writers and poets such as Phillis Wheatley, Fredrick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Countee Cullen, Gwendolyn Bennett, John Davis, Aaron Davis, James Weldon Johnson, W.E.B. Du Bois and Alain Locke. We also want to recognize the editor of “Fire” monthly magazine, John Wallace Thurman, and the editor of "Opportunity" monthly magazine, Charles Johnson. Their contributions are profound and enduring. All were active participants in the creation of a new African American literature, culture and artistic representation. In fact, they helped to build a tapestry of resistance against marginalization, stereotyping, racism, inequality and discrimination. Du Bois and Locke became the philosophical architects and inspiration for the literary movement known as the “Harlem Renaissance.” On March 19, 1968, about two weeks before his assassination, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the Greeks may have Plato and Aristotle as great philosophers, but America has its own intellectual giants in W.E.B. Du Bois and Alaine Locke. Two literary giants and poets who have influenced new generations of African American writers since the early 20th century are presented in this article. They are Langston Hughes and Claude McKay. We will present a brief biography of the poets, along with their poetry. WILL SHAKESPEARE Groundcover vendor No. 258 and poetry from his older brother who was a teacher. He moved from Sunnyvale to Brown’s Town when he was 17. Eventually, he moved to the capital city of Kingston. He wrote that he experienced racism, discrimination and marginalization while in Kingston. The rampant bigotry he experienced in the capital city of Jamaica led him to write what Poets. org called “impressions of Black life in Jamaica in dialect.” Poets.org continued, “His publication of the work earned him a grant from the Jamaican Institute of Arts and Sciences.” McKay traveled to the United States and arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, in the late summer of 1912. He then enrolled at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. McKay moved from Tuskegee to Kansas State College, and he eventually arrived in New York City where he did several jobs, while trying to work in literary journals, including “Pearson’s Magazine" and the socialist magazine, “The Liberator.” In 1917, he published two sonnets: “The Harlem Dancer” and “Invocation” and later used the former to write about social and political concerns from his perspective as a Black man in the United States. In 1922, he published his third book collection titled, “Harlem Shadows.” The University of Illinois Press posthumously published, “The Passion of Claude McKay: Selected Poetry and Prose” in 2004. Langston Hughes (19011967) Langston Hughes was the most Claude McKay (1889-1948) The Academy of American Poets said in their summary of Poet Claude McKay that he was born Festus Claudius McKay in Sunnyvale, Jamaica on September 15, 1889. He died in Chicago, Illinois on May 25, 1948. He learned a lot about reading, writing prolific poet associated with the early Black literary movement and the Harlem Renaissance. He started writing poems and short stories when he was 17. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1901 in Joplin, Missouri. He died on May 22, 1967, in New York City. The Academy of American Poets website stated that After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University. During this time, he worked as an assistant cook, a launderer and a busboy. He also traveled to Africa, working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington, D.C. Hughes' first book of poetry, “The Weary Blues,” was published (by Alfred Knoff, 1926) with an introduction by Harlem Renaissance arts patron Carl Van Vechten. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. Hughes published his first novel, “Not Without Laughter” in 1930. When he was asked to name writers who had influenced his work, he cited Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman. Poets. org noted that Langston Hughes' “life and work were enormously important in shaping the artistic contributions of the Harlem Renaissance of the1920s. Unlike other notable poets of the period, such as Claude Mckay, Jean Toomer and Countee Cullen, Hughes refused to differentiate between his personal experience and the common experience of Black America. He wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including their love of music, laughter and language, alongside their suffering.” Hughes was a giant in America’s literary circles. His first poem, written the summer after his high school graduation, was published by “Crisis” Magazine in 1921, entitled “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” "Fire" magazine said that he explored Harlem when he came to Columbia University, “forming a permanent attachment to what he called ‘The Great Dark City.’” There are some poems from Langston Hughes collections on the next page. Conclusion The common denominator for most African American poets and literary giants of the early 20th century is civil rights activism. By circumstance of birth and cultural inclination, Dr. King drew inspiration from the written words and voices of America’s literary giants, especially African American writers. He never stopped praising the work of Black creators who were also civil rights activists. One of the early Black literary movement pioneers who received universal praises from Blacks and whites was James Weldon Johnson (18711938). Johnson was a co-founder of the NAACP, a native of the Bahamas, a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and publisher of “The Book of American Negro Poetry.” He was also a filmmaker, a diplomat, a theater playwright and a musician. Moreover, Johnson was the composer of a poem titled, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” This poem was written in the late 19th century, and James Weldon Johnson’s brother J. Rosamond Johnson converted the poem into an African American hymn which evoked the Biblical exodus from slavery to the freedom of the promised land. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is very popular and it’s now considered the Black National Anthem. Feel free to read and sing the poem below. Lift every voice and sing by James Weldon Johnson Lift every voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise High as the listening skies, Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us. Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won. APRIL 5, 2024
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