Those We Lost
Those We Lost — May 22
May
Honoring those we lost on May 22 — remembered for what they gave, and for what they left behind.
Claude McKay
Born September 15, 1889 — Died May 22, 1948
Field: Harlem Renaissance / Poetry / Fiction / Radical Politics
Claude McKay was a poet and novelist whose work became central to the Harlem Renaissance. His poem “If We Must Die” became one of the most famous Black resistance poems of the 20th century.
Why it matters: McKay’s writing gave language to defiance, migration, racial violence, sexuality, class, and Black international consciousness.
Langston Hughes
Born February 1, 1901 — Died May 22, 1967
Field: Harlem Renaissance / Poetry / Drama / Black Folk Voice
Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers in Black American history. His poems, plays, essays, and stories centered Black working people, blues language, humor, dignity, and everyday struggle.
Why it matters: Hughes made Black life sing on the page without needing permission from white literary standards.
