Richard Bruce Nugent was born in DC in 1906, and lived at this address with his grandmother from 1924-1926. Nugent was the author of “Smoke, Lillies, and Jade” (1926), a short story published in Fire!!, widely considered the first published Black gay fiction.
In addition to writing short fiction and poetry, Nugent was a painter, actor, and dancer, appearing on Broadway in Porgy (1927) and Run, Little Chillun (1933). He was employed by the Federal Writers’ Project in the late 1930s and a member of the Negro Dance Company in the early 40s. Nugent was featured in the film Brother to Brother (2004). His poetry and prose was collected posthumously as Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance (2002).
The Homes
