Part of the Black Heritage series, this stamp honors the prolific and influential Langston Hughes. His work gave voice to the experiences of working-class African Americans, using the rhythms of jazz and the blues to create a new and distinctly American form of poetry. Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and his influence extended far beyond the literary world, as he was also a social activist who fought for civil rights. The stamp was issued on his birthday in his birthplace of Joplin, Missouri.