Today is the birthday of Langston Hughes, who was born this day in 1902 and died in 1967. I can't help but think that the anniversary of Hughes' birth is a powerful way to start Black History Month: a gay poet, novelist and playwright who was a major part of the Harlem Renaissance.

Hughes was a major proponent of Black pride, advocating that black people should focus less on assimilating themselves into a culture of "people whose shoes were always shined, who had been to Harvard, or who had heard Bach" and instead learn to appreciate themselves and their culture. In 1926, Hughes wrote in The Nation magazine the following about his fellow African-American artists of his generation:

"(we) now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly, too. The tom-tom cries, and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain free within ourselves."

That's a thought I think most underrepresented groups can empathize with, including gays.

Hughes' writing often dealt with race and class. His first novel, Not Without Laughter, was a semi-autobiographical story that followed a young boy facing the challenges imposed on him by society due to his race and class. His 1934 collection of short stories, The Ways of White Folks, examined black/white relations.

While his poetry frequently included hints at gay themes like Walt Whitman, early accounts of Hughes' life and accomplishments overlooked that Hughes was gay. However, Hughes has been reclaimed as a black gay icon in the past couple decades, including a portrayal in Brother to Brother, which focused on the life of another influential gay writer of the Harlem Renaissance, Richard Bruce Nugnet. Archival footage of Hughes was used in the groundbreaking 1988 short film Looking for Langston, an experimental meditation on the poet's sexuality.

You can sample some of Hughes' poetry, courtesy of the University of Illinois.

The critically praised 2004 film Brother to Brother re-introduced modern audiences to Richard Bruce Nugent, an openly gay writer popular during the Harlem Renaissance. In the film, an art student meets Nugent and hears stories about what it was like to be a gay voice in one of the 1920's important cultural movements.

Nugent was the first African-American to publish a story about gay characters ("Smoke, Lilies and Jade") and for a long period he was a rare example of a gay African-American man who didn't hesitate to let his art reflect his homosexuality. But his novel, Gentleman Jigger, has gone unprinted until now.

Gentleman Jigger focuses on two brothers: Aeon, who can "pass" as white, and Stuartt, who is openly gay, like Nugent. Stuartt becomes involved with a young hoodlum, forcing him to deal with the gangster's world of molls, jazz and gang bosses. According to Keith Boykin, the novel was never published partially due to the frank discussion of homosexuality, which Nugent refused to take out when asked by publishers.

If you'd like to learn more about Nugent, check out this website which has plenty of samples of his work and a look at his life. You can sample his poetry, his art (including a totally NSFW gallery of drawings) or read a chronology of his life.

On a blazing hot summer day you might not feel up to running the streets, rollerblading in the city or even a sweltering walk in the park. The heat can be exhausting and a day inside could be just what you need. We've already written about how there isn't much gay at the box office of late, so to help keep you entertained in the cool interior of your house are five of the best gay movies to fill up in your Netflix queue — and yes, I left out Brokeback Mountain!

Female Trouble

Despite some of the interview mishaps with John Travolta, many of us are looking forward to the third version of Hairspray due out in theaters July 20th. However, before Serial Mom and Hairspray, legendary director John Waters was known for his camp-a-licious films that shocked straights and gays. Waters' 1975 Female Trouble manages to not go as far as his first film, Pink Flamingos, but goes far enough to still get a NC-17 rating when the film was released on DVD in 2004.

Female Trouble is the story of Dawn Davenport, played by the larger-than-life drag queen Divine. Dawn is mortified when she does not get her cha-cha heels for Christmas and turns into a tawdry bad girl who combines crime and beauty to be a star. Female Trouble is vulgar, repulsive, shocking, but completely hilarious. If you haven't see it, it's a must and if you already seen it, it's a must to see it again.

If you missed the limited release of Brother to Brother in 2005, it is definite DVD viewing for the summer. Brother to Brother is the story of a struggling writer/student who is looking for love and struggling with his sexuality in urban New York. His life is juxtaposed with the Harlem Renaissance by characters such as Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and Richard Bruce Nugent. Director Rodney Evans delivers in this touching film that manages to combine humor with drama, leaving the audience with a sense that although we are from different eras, many things for gays have remained the same including the need for love and companionship which are universal.