Kansas Figures
Photo credit University of Nebraska
Aaron Douglas
Artist
Aaron Douglas, the son of a baker and a homemaker in Topeka, Kansas, taught high school art in Kansas City for two years before joining the emerging art scene in New York that would become the Harlem Renaissance. His renowned pieces depicted the struggles and celebrations of African-American life during his era, and he is widely recognized as one of the leading American artists of the twentieth century.
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Gwendolyn Brooks
Poet
Born in Topeka, KS in 1917, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize after her work Annie Allen was recognized for poetry. The later work of Brooks would take on politics and social issues, as National Observer contributor Bruce Cook states, “an intense awareness of the problems of color and justice.”
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Photo credit Associated Press
Photo credit Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Langston Hughes
Author
Langston Hughes spent his early years growing up under the care of his grandmother between Topeka and Lawrence, KS. While he claimed to be a Kansan, much of Hughes work depicted the Harlem Renaissance era of New York City, where he lived and worked as an author. His many contributions, which include novels, autobiographies, children’s books, newspaper columns and more, have been revered worldwide and translated in to over a dozen languages.
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Melissa Etheridge
Musician
A two time Grammy winning musician, Melissa Etheridge’s roots can be traced back to Leavenworth Kansas, where she began playing guitar at just eight years old. In addition to being one of rock music’s great female icons, she has also been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community after announcing she is a lesbian in 1993.
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Photo credit NPR (Artist submitted)
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