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Twentieth century writer and poet
Born:February 1, 1902
Died:May 22, 1967
Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance, which was the African American artistic movement in the 1920s that celebrated black life and culture. Hughes's creative genius was influenced by his life in New York City's Harlem, a primarily African American neighborhood. His literary works helped shape American literature and politics. Hughes, like others active in the Harlem Renaissance, had a strong sense of racial pride. Through his poetry, novels, plays, essays, and children's books, he promoted equality, condemned racism and injustice, and celebrated African American culture, humor, and spirituality.
Ballad of Booker T
Booker T. Washingtonwas a former slave who founded the Tuskegee Institute and became a well-regarded educational leader. Washington was often criticized, however, for his emphasis on vocational education--preparation for skilled manual jobs--rather than academics. In this poem, written in 1941, noted poet Langston Hughes takes on Washington's critics. How does he explain and justify Washington's work? Why might he have chosen to write this poem in 1941, many years after Washington's death?
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