langston hughes was born on february 1, 1902 in joplin, missouri. his parents were james hughes and carrie langston hughes who was a teacher. langston's father, james hughes, was so upset about the racism towards african-americans that he left his family and moved to mexico. during his childhood, hughes was cared for by his grandmother, in lawrence, kansas while his mother worked to support the family. langston's grandmother was a great story teller. she told stories that made him feel proud to be an african-american.