The cousin of a literary icon visited South Bend Saturday.

Langston Hughes' cousin was the guest of honor at the very first Afro Inspirations event.

“There are many things I could tell people about Langston, but I can’t get it all in in 22 minutes,” Marjol Rush-Collet, Langston Hughes’ cousin said.

During her speech, Rush-Collet explained why family history matters for everyone.

She shared her stories to a packed room at the Near Northwest Neighborhood center.

Dr. G David Moss, Director of African-American Student and Parent Services for South Bend Community Schools, organized and ran the event.

“Even though we may have come here through different circumstances, the things we’ve gone through, the things that we’ve had to experience together have made us connected as a culture, as a country,” Moss said.

Moss says the night was so successful, it will now become a February tradition.

In addition to the Hughes presentation, there was dancing, singing and even miming.

“We actually had reserved seating and almost every seat was filled,” Moss said.

Seats were filled by diverse audience members, each with a special personal history.

“I want people to understand that everybody comes from a family. Every family has a history, and it is up to each individual to research and find that history for their own family,” Rush-Collet said.