Photograph: Courtesy of Griffith J. Davis Photographs and Archives
Langston Hughes (1901–1967), a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance, forged lasting friendships with artists across different generations and disciplines. He connected creative professionals, championed their work, and helped build a vibrant network of Black creatives and intellectuals who both shaped and responded to the events of their era.
His circle included notable figures such as Arna Bontemps, Zora Neale Hurston, Dorothy West, Regina Andrews, Margaret Danner, Louis Armstrong, Randy Weston, and Roy DeCarava. A new exhibition, “The Ways of Langston Hughes,” provides an intimate look at Hughes with students, writers, visual artists, and performers at various stages of their careers.
A notable friendship began at Atlanta University, where Hughes was a visiting professor and Griffith Davis (1923–1993) was a student. After Davis graduated from Morehouse College in 1947, Hughes recommended him as the first Roving Editor of Ebony magazine. In 1948, while attending the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Davis rented a room in Hughes’ Harlem home on East 127th Street. He used this as a base for his work as an international freelance photojournalist. Hughes was inspired by Davis’s marriage to Muriel Corrin Davis in 1952 for his book “Simple Takes a Wife” in the Simple series.
Their mentorship evolved into multiple professional collaborations and a lasting friendship. This exhibition features Griff Davis’s photography, complemented by archival material from the Schomburg Center’s collections and letters that document their decades-long correspondence.
“The Ways of Langston Hughes,” will run through July 7th at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The exhibition and its text are adapted from the traveling exhibition “Griff Davis-Langston Hughes, Letters and Photographs, 1947–1967: A Global Friendship,” which originated at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.
