Most literary scholars agree the celebrated Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes was gay, though closeted for the sake of his financial stability and support from black churches and organizations. Others conclude Hughes was asexual, while others still point to a series of unpublished poems that seem to be written to a black male lover he calls “Beauty.” 

Regardless, Langston Hughes is remembered for his works’ portrayals of everyday working-class black lives in early 20th century America, filled with both struggle and joy. His body of work exudes a strong sense of pride.

Says playwright Loften Mitchell, “Langston set a tone, a standard of brotherhood and friendship and cooperation, for all of us to follow. You never got from him, ‘I am the Negro writer,’ but only 'I am a Negro writer.’ He never stopped thinking about the rest of us.“