Standing in front of a giant image of Langston Hughes smoking, is Mrs. Barbara White and her Children, the Calverts, from Milwaukee.

In the intimate space, I gathered that this was the Calverts first time at the Schomburg. I arrived at the show before them and looked up when they made their grand entrance.

“Look at Langston with that wavy hair! You kinda look like him!”

Mr. Calvert made the family presence known immediately. With him leading the way, they walked in with a gait of humility and joy. His voice echoed throughout the room and the few people there, looked up and laughed lightly.

Amid the friendly chuckle, I glimpsed at the security guard whom he was addressing, who responded by shaking his head as if to say, I heard this a thousand times.

In institutions of higher artistic excellence all you need is an ice breaker to get conversations going. As most Black folk do upon meeting each other, it wasn’t long before we asked each other where are you from?

I’m from Milwaukee. You ever been?

No.

How about Chicago?

No.

You don’t travel?

Yes, but I haven’t been to the midwestern states yet.

When I told the family I was from the Bronx, Mrs. White sang a line from a Jennifer Lopez song, Jenny from the Block, which went right over my head. But I smiled and did the I’ll -fake- it -and -hope- no -one- notice it -thingy. Which I think I did really horrible because Mrs. White said, You know? Jennifer Lopez?

Oh, yeah, her…Humm, She’s from the Bronx as well as…Big Pun and other rappers.

Yeah, Hip Hop was born in the Bronx! Mr. Calvert chimed in.

I then encouraged them to visit the Bronx. Next time ya’ll come, visit the Bronx.

And Go where? Mr. Calvert who seemed to travel the most seemed to be making mental notes.

Oh, there are lots of places to go….like my church.

Oh, Mom, she’s a Church girl like you!

The mom then told me that she’s Jehovah Witness and we both smiled. Then I waited for the others to join in but they all seemed to be interested in the Bronx and Hip Hop so I continued,

We also have The Botanical Gardens, The Zoo, The Yankee Stadium, and a lot of great West Indian, Spanish and Mexican restaurants.

The young man who was married to one of the Calvert girls asked me a question that was fitting for me and the space.

Do you know about the relationship between Langston Hughes and Schomburg?

You mean Schomburg the Center or Arturo Schomburg the man?

The man.

I smiled. Arturo Schomburg was a bibliophile who collected all sorts of books to prove that Black History was alive and meaningful. The negative experience he had in Puerto Rico as a Black boy gave him a zeal and vigor to prove that we had our own history and are still making history.

Did the two men every know each other?

Yes, they both lived in Harlem at the same time and would go to shows together. Schomburg was uplifting Black History and Langston was writing the History…

Thanks for clearing that up, that’s all I wanted to know.

Everyone was smiling in the foyer now of the Schomburg. I didn’t end the conversation just yet becuase I loved their accent. Their dialect reminded me of my friend Donovan from Ohio. They didn’t slur their words like my family from the Deep South. Nonetheless, I am not a linguist to decipher perfectly what I hear but I think their accent have something to do with the long vowel sounds and the tongue.

I was there during my Spring Break to create lesson plans for my fourth graders. They were touring New York celebrating their Mom’s, Mrs. White, 69th birthday. We all learned a little bit more about our people through Langston.

The Langston Hughes’ show at the Schomburg entitled The Ways of Langston Hughes: Griff Davis and Black Artist in the Making celebrates a friendship between two men whose passion was to document the Black Community in a positive and inspiring light. It is running until July 8th, 2024

At the Bisa Butler Show