There Was a Party for Langston

Content Warning: This section discusses enslavement and anti-Black racism and violence.

Langston Hughes is illustrated in various outfits, though he is always depicted as a Black man with medium brown skin; short, wavy, back hair; and a thin, black mustache. While this book does not have a classical protagonist or central character, the spirit and legacy of Langston provide the central driving force of the narrative and show the importance of Learning About Cultural History and Heritage. The gathering in the library to celebrate Langston provides the book’s plot. The narrator emphasizes Langston’s importance regarding Artistic Inspiration and Its Influence Across Generations by explaining how Langston wrote “wake-up stories and rise-and-shine rhymes” that influenced people (19-20). These words show that Langston’s writing is not just entertainment; Langston’s words transform people’s real worlds, “waking” them up to the realities and possibilities around them.

Two facing-page illustrations accompany the narration. On the left, Langston is at a typewriter, and on the right, Martin Luther King, Jr., stands at a podium giving a speech. Words flow from Langston’s typewriter, forming the podium at which King stands.