Journal #23

It all started with an invitation. An invitation for Hughes and his brethren to Moscow to shoot a film titled "Black and White." Some of the entourage only had enough money for the ticket. The Russians were astonished to behold twenty-two Negroes of all shades and were not prepared for their arrival. Three weeks passed and Langston was finally given a translation of the script from Russian to English. Russia was experiencing economic hard times, but the cast was still paid as promised. Langston found he was treated differently for being a foreignor. Unlike in America, their color was seen as a badge of honor.

They were seeking adventure on this trip, but also understanding. Learning about the communist system and filming was supposed to expand their knowledge. But this was not the case, as the film was rejected and it was an outrage to Negros. However, it was only the begining for Hughes, as he spent many months in intensive contact and study of the customs, culture and economy of the Turkiman and Uzbeck peoples.

Langston learned a lot from his travels to Russia. How fast a country can turn from a majority of the population being illiterate to educating all children, exchanging serfdom for wages and getting rid of segregation altogether in less than a decade! If anything, Hughes got hope from this, that change can occur.








Patterson, Louise. "With Langston Hughes in the USST." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 182-189.

Frazier, E. Franklin. "La Bougeoisie Noire." The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader. Ed. David Lewis. New York: 1995. 173-181.