Legacy

Although his stay in Lawrence was brief, the city continues to honor Langston Hughes in a variety of ways. In 1975, local sculptor James Patti created the statue of Hughes on display in the Watkins Museum. It depicts Hughes as a young boy delivering newspapers and carrying a book by W.E.B. DuBois. The University of Kansas established a rotating professorship in Hughes' name in 1977. A plaque with the first line of Hughes' poem "Youth" was placed at the entrance to Lawrence City Hall when it was built in 1980. Students at Pinckney School and New York School petitioned the Lawrence City Commission to hold "Langston Hughes Day" on February 1, 1991. They celebrated Hughes' birthday with performances, readings, and lectures about Hughes.