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’s Quotes On Topics
Racial Commentary | Jealousy | Power | Racial Solidarity | National Identity | Depression | Emotional Healing | Truth | Politics | American Landscape | Mindset | Historical Trauma | African American Life | Library | Art | Personal Heroes | African American | Childhood Memory | Artistic Survival | Personal Experience | More
More Langston Hughes Quotes
“We Negro writers, just by being black, have been on the blacklist all our lives. Censorship for us begins at the color line.” Langston Hughes
Racism, Censorship, Writing, Black Experience, Social Criticism
Langston Hughes Racism, Censorship, Writing, Black Experience, Social Criticism“If the government can set aside some spot for a elk to be a elk without being bothered, or a buffalo to be a buffalo without being shot down, there ought to be some place where a Negro can be a Negro without being Jim Crowed.” Langston Hughes
Racial Equality, Freedom, Social Justice, Civil Rights, Metaphor
Langston Hughes Racial Equality, Freedom, Social Justice, Civil Rights, Metaphor“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“Humor is when the joke's on you but hits the other fellow first – before it boomerangs.” Langston Hughes
Humor, Self-deprecation, Human Nature, Social Observation, Wit
Langston Hughes Humor, Self-deprecation, Human Nature, Social Observation, Wit“Life dosent frighten me at all.” Langston Hughes
Courage, Resilience, Defiance, Personal Strength, Emotional Fortitude
Langston Hughes Courage, Resilience, Defiance, Personal Strength, Emotional Fortitude“Never look for a worm in the apple of your eye.” Langston Hughes
Love, Trust, Relationships, Metaphor, Wisdom
Langston Hughes Love, Trust, Relationships, Metaphor, Wisdom“There are certain very practical things American Negro writers can do. And must do. There's a song that says, "the time ain't long." That song is right. Something has got to change in America-and change soon. We must help that change to come.” Langston Hughes
Writing, Activism, Social Change, Racial Justice, Artistic Responsibility
Langston Hughes Writing, Activism, Social Change, Racial Justice, Artistic Responsibility“I asked you, baby, If you understood- You told me that you didn’t, But you thought you would.” Langston Hughes
Communication, Misunderstanding, Relationships, Expectation, Dialogue
Langston Hughes Communication, Misunderstanding, Relationships, Expectation, Dialogue“I was unhappy for a long time, and very lonesome, living with my grandmother. Then it was that books began to happen to me, and I began to believe in nothing but books and the wonderful world in books – where if people suffered, they suffered in beautiful language, not in monosyllables, as we did in Kansas.” Langston Hughes
Books, Loneliness, Escape, Literary World, Personal Growth
Langston Hughes Books, Loneliness, Escape, Literary World, Personal Growth“Whiskey just naturally likes me but beer likes me better.” Langston Hughes
Humor, Drinking, Self-deprecation, Personal Experience, Social Observation
Langston Hughes Humor, Drinking, Self-deprecation, Personal Experience, Social Observation“A world I dream where black or white, whatever race you be, will share the bounties of the earth and every man is free.” Langston Hughes
Equality, Freedom, Racial Harmony, Utopian Vision, Social Justice
Langston Hughes Equality, Freedom, Racial Harmony, Utopian Vision, Social Justice“As long as what is is-and Georgia is Georgia-I will take Harlem for mine. At least, if trouble comes, I will have my own window to shoot from.” Langston Hughes
Harlem, Identity, Self-defense, Racial Commentary, Social Critique
Langston Hughes Harlem, Identity, Self-defense, Racial Commentary, Social Critique“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“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 loved my friend He went away from me There's nothing more to say The poem ends, Soft as it began- I loved my friend.” Langston Hughes
Friendship, Loss, Love, Simplicity, Poetic Expression
Langston Hughes Friendship, Loss, Love, Simplicity, Poetic Expression“Why did white folks think you could live on nothing but art? Strange! Too strange! Too strange!” Langston Hughes
Art, Poverty, Racial Divide, Cultural Misunderstanding, Economic Reality
Langston Hughes Art, Poverty, Racial Divide, Cultural Misunderstanding, Economic Reality“I will not take 'but' for an answer.” Langston Hughes
Determination, Resilience, Racial Equality, Refusal, Assertiveness
Langston Hughes Determination, Resilience, Racial Equality, Refusal, Assertiveness“Gather quickly Out of darkness All the songs you know And throw them at the sun Before they melt Like snow.” Langston Hughes
Creativity, Urgency, Music, Metaphor, Inspiration
Langston Hughes Creativity, Urgency, Music, Metaphor, Inspiration“We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased, we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.” Langston Hughes
Art, Identity, Self-expression, Racial Pride, Artistic Freedom
Langston Hughes Art, Identity, Self-expression, Racial Pride, Artistic Freedom