Langston Hughes' hidden influence on MLK
- Written by Jason Miller, Professor of English, North Carolina State University
Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream – which alternated between shattered and hopeful – can be traced back to Hughes' poetry.AP Photo
For years, Martin Luther King Jr. and poet Langston Hughes maintained a friendship, exchanging letters and favors and even traveling to Nigeria together in 1960.
In 1956, King recited Hughes’ poem “Mo...

