I’ve never shared this, but I lived in Langston Hughes house in Harlem,NY in the 90’s. I was a 10-year-old insecure child that had just reconnected with her mother after being apart nearly seven years. My mom lived in Langston’s house with her lover who’s family owned Langston’s former home. They were the perfect family with two kids and welcomed me with opened arms. I grew up playing on his piano, toying with his broken typewriter and reading things he left behind. I marveled over artifacts he kept in his home and their family became my own.
Fast-forward to today I am a black female journalist sharing my own stories influenced by the legacy Langston Hughes left behind. His work as a poet, social activist, novelist, playwright will forever be honored as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance.
Check out this first ever video recording of this beautiful song “I Dream a World” by composer Damien Sneed with opera star Will Liverman, and Damien at the piano.
Will portrayed the leading role of Charles Blow in the Met Opera’s production of Fire Shut Up In My Bones, the first opera by a Black composer staged at the Met in its entire history.
On February 15, Will Liverman will make his Lincoln Center solo recital debut, performing a program that portrays the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the Black experience through poignant texts and expressive musical settings. The recital includes select songs from his Grammy-nominated album Dreams of a New Day—Songs by Black Composers.
Happy Birthday Langston, we honor you.
I Dream A World
By Langston Hughes
I dream a world where man
No other man will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth
And peace its paths adorn
I dream a world where all
Will know sweet freedom’s way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul
Nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white,
Whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth
And every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head
And joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind-
Of such I dream, my world!
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