patterson and jeffrey stewart, two writers who examine key figures of the harlem renaissance, langston hughes and alain locke respectively. in letters langston, doctor marylouise patterson explores the relationship her family, her mother had with langston hughes. in the new negro, the life of alain locke, jeffrey stewart follows the career of the central figure in the harlem renaissance. it is important to say something about the subject that they write about. they celebrate, both are offers celebrate artistic genius in a society that said you did not belong. there great gift to many through their art is to say this is how we do belong. without further ado, marylouise patterson, thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everyone. thank you, george mason university, thank you, professor benedict carton, thank you for inviting me. this is, these two people, langston hughes and alain locke, very important people in american history, certainly in american literature. i would like to introduce you to my parents, and the parents of my co-author, who knew langston hughes for over 30 years and corresponded

sincerely, langston hughes. by may of that year, my father and langston had become fast friends.at month langston sent matt a telegram about an exciting prospect, a trip to moscow that louise had been organizing from new york. dear matt: here's a copy of a wire from louise. mossmoss uh-uh cow wire, all -- moscow wire, very necessary you arrive new york ready to sail by june 15th. have good group. consult map. wire immediately, louise. so if you're going, you have to get a passport at once. airmail louise your decision. i hope you can go. langston. the group of young black professionals, intellectuals and artists had been invited to moscow to make a film into it withed "black and white" about the state of race relations in the united states. matt and langston were roommates during their stay in the soviet union. there in the heavy atmosphere of the new socialism, they forged their friendship and commitment to radical political struggle. william patterson had gone to the soviet union earlier. by 1928 he was seriously studying radical political philosophy and traveled to moscow to c

i'm a langston hughes patriot. in 1935, think about this, this is a black man in 1935 talking about america. he says let america be america again. let it be the dream or streamed. america was never america to me. he says let it be that great , that anyd of love man be crushed by one above. america was never america to me. it's taught to talk about how terrible american history is but if you read the end of the pollen -- at the end of the poem, it says we the we the people must reclaim the rivers and make america great again. think -- i'm ai hughes patriot, he tells us about the weight think about our country, to think about our past, and think about our future. saying there have been plenty of bad times in america. this is not the worst. i do not think -- i hope many of us would not choose to live in 1850 america. we have been in tough times before. the same time it's incredibly important not to throw out the best part of our aspirations. he is then calling on this aspiration of love and freedom and these dual go -

i'm a langston hughes patriot. in 1935, think, about this, this is a black man and 1935 talking about america. america let america be again. leaded be the dream the dreamers dreamed. .merica was never america to me and then he goes on to a beautiful poem where he says let it be that great strong land of love where never kings connive, that any man be crushed by one above. america to me.er sometimes, that poem is taught to talk about just how terrible american people is but if you read all the way to the end of the problem, what he says is we the people of the rocked and ruin of our gangster death, out of the rape and rot of stealth and hate and lies, we the people the reclaim the rivers and endless plain and make america america again. and useon i am a likes patriot as he tells us a way to think about our country, our past, our future. both to be non-sentimental about what we have been. haveter was saying, there been plenty of bad times in america. this is not the worst. i do not think that many of us, i hope many

the more opportunities kids have to read langston hughs or view georgia o'keeffe, the more they will appreciate the poetry of mathematic formula. what it means to be human, nurturing the gift of empathy makes us better citizens, makes us understand each other better. learning to read music will help a student with her math homework just as the good mast instruction helps her make sense of it. a painter who understands chemistry is a better painter, an engineer who appreciates art is a better engineer. citizens who have exposure to a whole constellation of disciplines and subject areas make a better democracy and an economically viable country. that shared service is shared concretely by the humanities and arts. most of you in this room know the economic boom that arts and cultural events bring to your towns and cities and districts. when the "hamilton" tour comes to your town, all the surrounding businesses benefit. if you don't believe me, ask the pizza place across from the -- what's up, your grandma slices are the greatest? the national endowment for the arts and the national endo

may the words of language -- langston hughes speak to our souls, motivate us. hughes said there is a dream to this land with its back against the wall, by muddled name and strange sometimes the dream is called. there are those who claim the dream for theirs alone a sin for which we know they must atone. unless shared in common like sunlight and like air, the dream will die for lack of substance everywhere. this dream knows no frontier or tongue, the dream no class or race. the dream cannot be kept secure in any one locked place. this dream today embattled with its back against the wall, to save the dream for one, it must be saved for all. mr. president, i tell you this with all of my heart that i have met these young americans. i have seen their service. i know their sacrifice. they have worn our uniforms, from our military uniforms to the uniforms of first responders. they have taught our children. they have benefited from our public schools, from our kindergartens, to our eighth grades, to our high schools, to our colleges, and to our universities. we have inv

sciences for the young african-american male and it's lions of two of the african-american history, langston hughes and supreme court justice thurgood marshall. our hbcu's nationwide are critical to the strength and stability of our nation just like our cities, our schools, compete for people. we have the power to continue to define the rich history and the legacies of our hbcu's. i'm proud to stand here today with our friends and colleagues to seand strong message that it is on us, it is our job to ensure that we protect these institutions that are true treasures and recognize the significance -- their significant societal contribution by continuing to ensure their success. i salute the lincoln lions and chaney wolves, both of these nstitutions are proud -- i'm proud they are in the commob wealth of pennsylvania. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. mrs. adams: i'd like to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania for not only his support but for his contributions to our historically black colleges and universities. at this time i'd like to yield tour final speaker, the gentlem

i love langston hughes' poetry, i love toni morrison's fiction. she's got a new book out, actually, "the origin of others," which is a nonfiction account of otherness in america. lots and lots and lots of people. but lucille clifton is the one that i try to pay homage to every step i get. >> it's kind of a two-part question. and by the way, awesome. >> thank you. >> did the v that you talked about follow a chronological path? and then, number two, do you see another v occurring as you continue your life along this journey? >> i'm hoping that the journey's going to go like this. [laughter] no more vs. yes, it's definitely a chronological path. except for section one, it begins like this, which is sort of a summary, more of a rhetorical summary before i plunge into the account of my life from young childhood on. yeah. i'll say this, let me just say one more thing in terms of whether the life will have another v. who knows, right? i said i'm 49, i came to live out loud and feel like i finally can. i'm no longer trying to be what other people don't fe