Death+of+Hughes

Langston Hughes was, in his later years, deemed the "Poet Laureate of the Negro Race," a title he encouraged.

Hughes meant to represent the race in his writing and he was, perhaps, the most original of all African American poets.

On May 22, 1967 Langston Hughes died after having had abdominal surgery. Hughes' funeral, like his poetry, was all blues and jazz: the jazz pianist Randy Weston was called and asked to play for Hughes's funeral.

Very little was said by way of eulogy, but the jazz and the blues were hot, and the final tribute to this writer so influenced by African American musical forms was fitting.

Source: Kansasheritage.org