Langston Hughes is one of the more famous Lawrence citizens. Thanks to a 1976 Bi-Centennial committee we have a permanent exhibit that Jim Pattee, a local sculptor, made for us. This shows Langston Hughes as he looked at the age of 11 or 12 while living in Lawrence. He lived here from the ages of 5 to 13.

On our city hall there is a memorial quotation from him, "Tomorrow stands before us like a brightly burning flame" from one of his poems. He wrote a novel about growing up here in Lawrence titled, "Not Without Laughter," available in our bookstore. This is an important historical work for understanding what this community was like in parts of our town which were not normally documented.