James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry.

Born: February 1, 1902, Joplin Died: May 22, 1967, New York City Parents: Caroline Mercer Langston, James Nathaniel Hughes Education: Lincoln University (1929), Columbia University (1921 – 1922) Awards: Spingarn Medal,Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, Quill Award for Poetry

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University holds the Langston Hughes papers (1862–1980) and the Langston Hughes collection (1924–1969) containing letters, manuscripts, personal items, photographs, clippings, artworks, and objects that document the life of Hughes. The Langston Hughes Memorial Library on the campus ofLincoln University, as well as at the James Weldon Johnson Collection within the Yale University also hold archives of Hughes' work

Keep Reading

Flights are shown cancelled on a screen at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal in Atlanta on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Cancellations at the Atlanta airport got worse over the weekend, as about 370 flights were canceled Saturday and about another 250 more by early Sunday morning. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Featured

Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. It was the first day the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com