It were depression, too. They cut my wages down once at the foundry. They cut my wages down again. Then they cut my wages out, also the job.
Langston Hughes
Great Depression, Economic Hardship, Labor, Unemployment, Social Commentary
Langston Hughes’s Quotes On Topics
Economic Hardship | African American Culture | Frustration | Wanderlust | Social Dynamics | Workers’ Rights | Dog | Cultural Misunderstanding | Seeking | Hope | Refreshment | Prejudice | Lonely Dog | Challenges | Life Journey | Colonialism | Intellectual Sanctuary | Politics | Social Metaphor | Achievement | More
More Langston Hughes Quotes
“Oh, God of Dust and Rainbows, Help us to see That without the dust the rainbow Would not be.” Langston Hughes
Hope, Spirituality, Balance, Life, Divine Assistance
Langston Hughes Hope, Spirituality, Balance, Life, Divine Assistance“Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind.” Langston Hughes
Youth, Mindset, Age, Perspective, Personal Philosophy
Langston Hughes Youth, Mindset, Age, Perspective, Personal Philosophy“Don't come giving me, who's old enough to die and too near blind to create anything any more anyhow, a great big banquet that you eat up in honor of your own stomachs as much as in honor of me- who's toothless and can't eat.” Langston Hughes
Aging, Recognition, Hypocrisy, Social Critique, Personal Dignity
Langston Hughes Aging, Recognition, Hypocrisy, Social Critique, Personal Dignity“I've been scared and battered. My hopes the wind done scattered. Snow has friz me, Sun has baked me, Looks like between 'em they done Tried to make me Stop laughin', stop lovin', stop livin' – But I don't care! I'm still here!” Langston Hughes
Resilience, Perseverance, Adversity, Defiance, Survival
Langston Hughes Resilience, Perseverance, Adversity, Defiance, Survival“They could not understand that there is some few people in the world who do good without being asked. It were a hot day, I were a little boy, and ice-cream cones are always good. And that man just looked at me and thought I would like one – which I did. That is one reason why I do not hate all white folks today because some white folks will do good without being asked or hauled up before the Supreme Court to have a law promulgated against them.” Langston Hughes
Kindness, Racial Relations, Childhood Memory, Prejudice, Human Goodness
Langston Hughes Kindness, Racial Relations, Childhood Memory, Prejudice, Human Goodness“To create a market for your writing you have to be consistent, professional, a continuing writer – not just a one-article or a one-story or a one-book man.” Langston Hughes
Writing Career, Professionalism, Consistency, Literary Market, Artistic Dedication
Langston Hughes Writing Career, Professionalism, Consistency, Literary Market, Artistic Dedication“Democracy will not come today, this year, nor ever through compromise and fear.” Langston Hughes
Democracy, Courage, Social Change, Political Commentary, Determination
Langston Hughes Democracy, Courage, Social Change, Political Commentary, Determination“Certainly there is, for the American Negro artist who can escape the restrictions the more advanced among his own group would put upon him, a great field of unused material ready for his art.” Langston Hughes
Art, Creativity, Racial Identity, Artistic Freedom, Cultural Expression
Langston Hughes Art, Creativity, Racial Identity, Artistic Freedom, Cultural Expression“I swear to the Lord, I still can't see, why Democracy means, everybody but me.” Langston Hughes
Democracy, Racial Inequality, Social Criticism, Frustration, Political Commentary
Langston Hughes Democracy, Racial Inequality, Social Criticism, Frustration, Political Commentary“My personal experience has been that in my 25 years of writing, I have not been asked to do more than four or five commercial one-shot scripts. These were performed on major national hook-ups but produced for me no immediate additional jobs or requests. One script for BBC was done around the world with an all-star cast.” Langston Hughes
Writing, Career, Challenges, Professional Experience, Artistic Struggle
Langston Hughes Writing, Career, Challenges, Professional Experience, Artistic Struggle“The silence inside the library, the big chairs, and long tables, and the fact that the library was always there and didn’t seem to have a mortgage on it, or any sort of insecurity about it – all of that made me love it.” Langston Hughes
Library, Solitude, Comfort, Love Of Reading, Intellectual Sanctuary
Langston Hughes Library, Solitude, Comfort, Love Of Reading, Intellectual Sanctuary“I look at my own body With eyes no longer blind- And I see that my own hands can make The world that's in my mind.” Langston Hughes
Empowerment, Self-perception, Creativity, Personal Agency, Transformation
Langston Hughes Empowerment, Self-perception, Creativity, Personal Agency, Transformation“Very early in life, it seemed to me that there was a relationship between the problems of the Negro people in America and the Jewish people in Russia, and that the Jewish people's problems were worse than ours.” Langston Hughes
Racial Solidarity, Social Justice, Cultural Comparison, Empathy, Shared Struggle
Langston Hughes Racial Solidarity, Social Justice, Cultural Comparison, Empathy, Shared Struggle“Peace We passed their graves: The dead men there, Winners or losers, Did not care. In the dark They could not see Who had gained The victory.” Langston Hughes
Death, Peace, War, Equality In Death, Existential Reflection
Langston Hughes Death, Peace, War, Equality In Death, Existential Reflection“I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes, but I laugh, and eat well, and grow strong.” Langston Hughes
Racial Identity, Resilience, Social Commentary, Oppression, Humor
Langston Hughes Racial Identity, Resilience, Social Commentary, Oppression, Humor“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.” Langston Hughes
Nature, Poetry, Comfort, Emotional Healing, Sensory Experience
Langston Hughes Nature, Poetry, Comfort, Emotional Healing, Sensory Experience“People up today and down tomorrow, working this week and fired the next, beaten and baffled, but determined not to be wholly beaten, buying furniture on the installment plan, filling the house with roomers to help pay the rent, hoping to get a new suit for Easter – and pawning that suit before the Fourth of July.” Langston Hughes
Struggle, Resilience, Poverty, Hope, American Life
Langston Hughes Struggle, Resilience, Poverty, Hope, American Life“Wear it like a banner For the proud? Not like a shroud.” Langston Hughes
Pride, Identity, Expression, Cultural Significance, Empowerment
Langston Hughes Pride, Identity, Expression, Cultural Significance, Empowerment