Van Vechten, Carl. “Portrait of Langston Hughes. 1936. Photograph. The Library of Congress, Washington, DC. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004663042/
This portrait is useful for classroom teachers because it shows Langston Hughes, an iconic writer and an important figure in Black history. A photograph of Langston Hughes is helpful because it allows students to visualize the author as they learn about his work. This photo can serve as a starting point for further research into his life and experiences. Langston Hughes’s writing, including poems and plays, is studied in countless classrooms in the United States. Teachers across many grade levels could incorporate the study of Langston Hughes in a unit on poetry, drama, Black history, social activism, and more. His work also gives students an opportunity to learn about the Harlem Renaissance and other Black literary figures and artists from that time. Students could use this photograph in a unit on biographies or historical figures of the United States. Upper elementary teachers may find the work of Langston Hughes especially useful for units on poetry, including the study of figurative language. His work offers opportunities to expand the study of poetry to include other cross-curricular connections such as history and social justice.
It is critical that students are given the opportunity to study a diverse range of authors, including Black writers such as Langston Hughes.
This primary source is a 1936 black-and-white photograph of American writer Langston Hughes, a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. A photograph of Hughes would be useful to teachers using his poetry or plays in the classroom. Students could examine the photo and notice details such as his expression or the text in the background. Teachers could also consider using the photograph of an edited draft of one of his poems (linked below) in order to highlight the importance of revising and editing in the writing process.
According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Langston Hughes (1901–1967) was a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, columnist, and a significant figure of the Harlem Renaissance.”1 This 1936 photograph by Carl Van Vechten depicts Hughes in front of a backdrop which appears to be a collage of newspaper clippings or other text. The caption describes him as “an African American, male poet, novelist, playwright, activist, and leader of the Harlem Renaissance.”
- What do you notice when you first look at the photograph?
- What do you think is behind him on the wall?
- How does Langston Hughes use sensory language such as similes and metaphors to paint a picture in the reader’s mind?
- How did the historical context of the time influence Langston Hughes’s poetry?
- What was the Harlem Renaissance?
- What do you notice about the background of the photograph, and why do you think the photographer chose to photograph Langston Hughes using this background?
Texas ELAR TEKS and Texas Social Studies TEKS
4.7(C): use text evidence to support an appropriate response.
- This photograph gives students a physical image of a poet, and examining the photograph helps them visualize who is writing the poetry and what time period he came from. It allows them to see a photo as a new kind of text.
4.9(B): explain figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification that the poet uses to create images
- Students will be able to take an initial look at this poet and then make inferences about how and why he chose the type of language in his poetry.
4.12(A): compose literary texts such as personal narratives and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;
- Students should be given mentor texts like Hughes’s poetry to then mimic and extract both words and phrases to incorporate into their own original poetry.
4.19(C): analyze information by applying absolute and relative chronology through sequencing, categorizing, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, comparing, contrasting, finding the main idea, summarizing, making generalizations and predictions, and drawing inferences and conclusions
- Students should be able to use this photo to appropriately situate Langston Hughes in a correct time period and be able to find other works of his in libraries and museums.
- Begin with comparing Hughes's appearance in the photo to descriptions in his poetry, or analyze how the visual representation aligns with or challenges student expectations based on his writing.
- Teachers could use poems by Langston Hughes, accompanied by his portrait, to study figurative language such as similes and metaphors. Langston Hughes’s famous poem “Harlem” is short but powerful, and is accessible for upper elementary readers. Students can read “Harlem” for examples of figurative language such as similes. “Dreams” is another short poem that offers opportunities for students to study metaphors. After reading and analyzing his poems, students can write their own short poems using figurative language. Reading his poems also gives teachers an opportunity to discuss elements of poetry, such as structure.
- Another Langston Hughes poem, “I, Too” can help students consider the history of racism in American history, how it influenced Hughes’s poetry, and/or how it is portrayed in poetry by various authors. Teachers could connect “I, Too” to another famous Hughes poem, “Mother to Son,” and consider connections between the two. According to Biography.com, “Mother to Son” and “Dreams” were both published in 1922, while “I, Too” was published in 1945.2 Teachers could guide students in understanding the historical context of these time periods. Students could learn about the Harlem Renaissance and the contributions of Black artists and authors from that era.
- Dual-language students can use Langston Hughes’s poem “My People” as a mentor text and write their own “Mi gente” poems in Spanish. Students can describe people in their own lives or communities as Hughes does in “My People.”
- Some teachers may face criticism for choosing to discuss race or racism in the classroom, despite the importance of contextualizing Hughes’s poetry by helping students understand the time period in which it was written. Many educators are currently facing backlash from parents and community members concerned about discussions of race or racism in classrooms. Unfortunately, teachers may be told that learning about a few Black writers during Black History Month is enough by those who do not value the inclusion of diverse voices in curriculum.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture offers support for people in talking about race, including specific resources for educators. The museum resources also highlight the importance of discussing race. https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
- Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shares her TEDTalk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” highlighting the importance of presenting students with many perspectives and stories. This can be achieved in part by reading work by diverse authors. https://ed.ted.com/lessons/TXtMhXIA
- PBS offers many resources for educators and parents preparing to discuss race with young children, including lists of books featuring diverse characters and/or by diverse authors. https://www.pbs.org/parents/talking-about-racism
- This blog post by We Need Diverse Books reminds teachers to incorporate books by Black authors year round, not just during Black History Month. The post includes links to books by Black authors. https://diversebooks.org/black-history-is-made-year-round/
- This photograph is nearly identical and was taken on the same day. https://www.loc.gov/item/2004663043/
- This 1942 photograph from the Library of Congress shows Langston Hughes smiling. https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3a43849/
- This is another photograph of Langston Hughes from 1942. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017830105
- This photograph shows a draft of Hughes’s poem “Ballad of Booker T.” including handwritten notes and edits. https://www.loc.gov/resource/mcc.024/?sp=1&r=-0.02,-0.14,1.212,0.604,0
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture has a brief biography of Langston Hughes. “Langston Hughes,” National Museum of African American History and Culture. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://nmaahc.si.edu/langston-hughes.
- This article by the Poetry Foundation offers additional information on Langston Hughes, including a discussion of his importance as an American author despite receiving criticism during his lifetime. “Langston Hughes.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/langston-hughes.
- Poets.org offers a biography of Langston Hughes and links to some of his work.“Langston Hughes.” Poets.org, January 31, 2024. https://poets.org/poet/langston-hughes.
- Teachers can find Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem” through the Poetry Foundation. Hughes, Langston. “Harlem.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46548/harlem.
- Teachers can find Langston Hughes’s poem “I, Too” through the Poetry Foundation.
- Hughes, Langston. “I, Too.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47558/i-too.
- Teachers can find Langston Hughes’s poem “Dreams” through the Poetry Foundation. Hughes, Langston. “Dreams.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/150995/dreams-5d767850da976
- Teachers can find Langston Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son” through the Poetry Foundation. Hughes, Langston. “Mother to Son.” Poetry Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47559/mother-to-son
- “My People” can be found at Poets.org. Hughes, Langston. “My People.” Poets.org. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://poets.org/poem/my-people-0
- Elementary readers may enjoy the book Who Was Langston Hughes? com. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717969/who-was-langston-hughes-by-billy-merrell-illustrated-by-gregory-copeland/.
- Another children’s book students and teachers may enjoy is Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes. Scholastic Education. Books, Resources & Programs. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/poetry-for-young-people-langston-hughes-9780439889070.html.
- Langston Hughes | National Museum of African American History and Culture. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://nmaahc.si.edu/langston-hughes.
- 10 Langston Hughes poems that capture the heart of america. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/langston-hughes-poems.