Hughes wrote what would be considered their manifesto, "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain", published in The Nation in 1926: The younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.
Hughes beschrieb die Intention der jungen Autoren in seinem Aufsatz The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, veröffentlicht am 23. Juni 1926 in The Nation: We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.