James Langton Hughes is known as one of the most influential and realistic African-American authors of all time (Dace 8). His works still act as a mirror that reflects the morals and opinions of our society that are hidden behind superficial facades. Born in 1902, to James and Carrie Langton, and raised by his grandmother due to the constant absence of his two later divorced parents, James admits that he was able to draw inspiration for writing from his moments of pain. Having lived and visited several places both in the United States and on other continents, James wrote about what he felt were the ills experienced in a society that are rarely addressed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although Langton Hughes' works were phenomenal, he never got the recognition he deserved due to the timing of his writing, the content, and his lack of identifying with and adhering to a specific genre. Hughes is considered the voice of the post-slavery African-American community that was experiencing racial discrimination and segregation. His focus was primarily on the lives of poor blacks and the difficulties they encountered in their daily lives. In his famous article “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and his anthology “The New Negro”, he focuses on the life of a population oppressed by slavery by a people who preach love and equality before the eyes of a Loving God (De Santi 22). He focused on the freedom afforded to African Americans, while still embracing racial segregation and discrimination (Dace 30). The content of his poem centered on shaming the lies of "whites" who at the time wanted to be congratulated for abolishing slavery and not condemned for embracing discriminatory policies against blacks. The timing of his work was also another factor. . Nowadays, when we look at his work and the rhymes he used, we can hear the voice of a man in need of change and against the oppression of his people. We see the struggles he saw and we understand the pain he felt because he expresses it with raw and pure words ((De Santis 22). On the contrary, in the period in which he wrote these words, the oppression and discrimination in society could not grant him public enough to make his point. He was seen as another angry black man. It was the time when political and legislative policies had a huge and great influence on the literary industry (Rampersad 1079). for them, which in this case did not include the message of radicalization. It was also an unstable time, in which whites felt they were losing power to former slaves and blacks wanted to fight for what they defined as equality and an end to discrimination .The political arena felt that the best way was to not allow the publication and advertising of certain articles, poems, and books. Finally, Hughes never really focused on one genre. This is mainly because of the influence and exposure he has gained from traveling the world. For example, when he started he used jazz rhythm in his poems which made him famous, later when he went to Asia and visited the former Soviet Union his writing changed to more narrative than the previous jazz rhythm that people were used to . . However, upon his return to New York, he became involved in writing and producing plays of a completely different genre than the two mentioned above. Eventually, once he settled down and stopped moving, he wrote historical books that made him embrace an entirely different genre. Keep in mind: this is.