University of Puget Sound, AFAM 101

Max, Selma, Amanda, Dom, & Louis

Overview of Institution:

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center was built in 1915 and is located in central Seattle. It was originally a synagogue, that was sold to the city of Seattle in 1969 and made a part of the Parks Department of Seattle. After it was sold to the city, it became the hub of African American arts and culture in Seattle. It was named after Langston Hughes, who was a black poet known for illustrating the black experience in the United States.

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center’s name was changed to the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute after a reconstruction from 2010-2013. A few years later, the LANGSTON non-profit organization was created to run the programming and preserve the mission of the institute, and to help it run as an institution independent of the city of Seattle. LANGSTON has a board consisting of 5 members that exists to serve the needs and interests of the community. LANGSTON’s mission statement is “cultivating black brilliance,” and its core values include “Sharing culture, promoting artistic expression, encouraging artistic excellence, facilitating cultural education and possibility, cultivating leaders, practicing radical inclusivity, and thriving as a self-determined community.” LANGSTON’s executive director Tim Lennon has expressed his worry about the changing demographics of Seattle, and specifically the central area where the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute is located. He cites this demographic change as further reasoning to preserve the black culture of the area, since there are few arts organizations created by and for black people.

The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute hosts many plays, lectures, discussions, workshops, and more. Such events give African Americans a important representation in the local community, encourages them to participate in their local culture, and gives them a voice within their community. Their most popular event is the annual Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, which has been running for 16 years now. It hosts black filmmakers, community leaders, and experts in the field of black studies to “exchange ideas with Black film as a catalyst for discussion.”

Connections to Contemporary Arts and Entertainment:

          In contemporary society, the arts and entertainment we have such ready access to, has a clear racial bias and disproportionately portrays black people in a negative way, and stereotypes them.  Black individuals in media are expected to be portrayed in positions of inferiority and weakness.

Black participation in theater and drama originated from minstrel shows, meaning that historically, black people (and those portraying them in blackface) were portrayed in a very degrading manner. This demeaning representation of Black people has in most cases become less blatant, but still clearly exists in mainstream media. Contemporary media and entertainment is undoubtedly centered around the experiences and culture of white society, and is inherently Eurocentric. This Eurocentric form of media has no interest in furthering the success of Black artists, whose ideas often directly conflict with the values of white media.

This is a widespread issue, and it has lead to a very skewed perception of black people in American society. It fuels the implicit bias that American society has, and essentially reaffirms the incorrect notions regarding black people that many have.  Media which opposes the social expectations and racial roles of traditional media will undoubtedly struggle to gain mainstream popularity and success.

This is why the role of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute is so important to Black artists in Seattle.  This institution allows for art, created by and for Black individuals to be engaged with in an environment free from the racial biases of mainstream media.  Furthermore, this hub for Black arts provides the Black community with access to media that wasn’t created by the white dominated mainstream media.  The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute allows the Black community to view art specifically created to express the Black life experience.   Not only is it more difficult for Black artists to find acceptance into mainstream media, but it is also more challenging for Black individuals to even begin pursuing art.

Pursuing the arts requires time, money and training.  However, the Black community is also forced to deal with significant financial and educational barriers.  And these barriers can limit the access that Black people have to the pursuit of art.  The Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute helps to break down these barriers by providing educational events and opportunities to learn from other Black artists in the community.

The Langston Hughes African American Film Festival, in particular, exemplifies the methods in which this institution supports the Black community.  This festival exclusively screens films which were created by independent Black filmmakers.  In addition, the festival also hosts workshops and discussions with Black filmmakers.  This provides the Black community with the ability to engage with and discuss films that accurately portray Black life in America.  The workshops and discussion based aspects of the festival provide education to developing filmmakers as well as opportunities to network with other local, Black filmmakers and community leaders.