Telephone: BRAdhurst 0454

BROTHERHOOD OF
Sleeping Car Porters

Headquarters:
2311 SEVENTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, N. Y.

General Organizer
A. PHILIP RANDOLPH
Editor "The Messenger" Magazine

September 24, 1925

Mr. Langston Hughes,
1749 "S" street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. Hughes:

Your favor of the 22nd inst. was forwarded to me from the
Courier office. Thanks for your flattering comment on my week-
ly jab appearing in The Courier. While I have never lived in
the virtuous city of Washington, I know the particular brand
of Homo Africanus of the so-called upper "clawless" inhabiting
that neck of the woods. There are quite a few of the breed right
here. I like to view life in general and African American life in
particular from an objective point of view; I don't believe in
always trying to present a gilded front to the white world (or
the colored), and for that reason I am damned by the Aframeri-
can powers that be. You can rest assured however, that I take
great delight in belaboring that crowd and listening to their
strident yells. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed "The Weary
Blues". I was at the Opportunity Contest Dinner the night it was
read. All your work has the flavor of the soil and the people, and
for that I much admire you.

With cordial good wishes, I beg to remain

**OUR GOAL:** More wages; better hours; better working conditions; pay for overtime; pay for "preparation" time; abolition of "doubling out", conductor's pay for conductor's work when in charge and manhood rights.

GEORGE S. SCHUYLER

321 EDGECOMBE AVENUE
NEW YORK CITY

October 14, 1931

My dear friend Hughes:

I am thoroughly in agreement with you
about writing for the Negro masses that which
they will be able to understand.

You can depend upon it that I shall com-
ment on your effort in the above direction at
my very earliest opportunity in "Views and Re-
views".

I have read through your booklet of poems
and I find "The Negro Mother" and "Dark Youth of
the U.S.A." greatly to my liking and just the
sort of work that will most impress the fine mas-
es of Negroes. It would be fine if you could
continue along the line of those two poems. What
the black masses need is hope and pride, an under-
standing of their potentialities, a reinforcement
of dignity. I believe you can be of great service
to this end because you have the proletarian point
of view.

Come and see me some time (Telephone: Edge-
combe 4-1519).

With best wishes, I am