So, I’m killing two birds with one stone on this post, actually three because I love doing the most.
Giving much deserved props to my fave poet–Langston Hughes–during National Poetry Month (check).
And featuring an arts collective org launched by Coretta Scott King Award winner. Introducing our other #WCW…Renee Watson.
The New York Times Bestselling author of “Piecing Me Together” was so inspired by Langston Hughes’ work she created “I, Too, Arts Collective” org (a nod to the iconic poem) in the scribe’s own Harlem brownstone.
Yes Ma’am!! The same parlor Langston used his famous typewriter, is now being occupied by kids taking part in African drumming and adult poetry readings.
It’s among the many creative programs offered by the non-profit, whose goal is to foster creativity within Harlem and sustain Langston’s legacy.
“This was a person that didn’t just write about Harlem, but loved Harlem,” Watson told CBS News.
What better way to repay that love affair than preserving the last creative space Langston Hughes worked in.
Through crowd sourcing and using hashtag #LangstonLegacy to get support, Watson was able to lease the brownstone in 2016.
The new goal is getting the collective to buy the building, which should’ve been a museum, anyway.
“There’s stories about Langston sitting in the parlor room with friends, and just talking politics, and talking about art, and we do that here. And so I hope that, yeah, if he knew it was going on, I think he would be proud. I feel like he’s cheering us on,” Watson said.
I am too.