Willard Motley
1909-1965
Motley started his writing career at 13, contributing a popular weekly column under the pseudonym "Bud Billiken" for the Chicago Defender while attending Englewood High School and later exploring various jobs and places to inspire his writings.
In 1939, Motley moved to Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood, researched social conditions, and founded Hull House Magazine to publish fiction, including a notable narrative about the trial of Bernard "Knifey" Sawicki.
In 1940, he wrote for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Writers' Project. In 1947, his first novel, Knock on Any Door, received critical acclaim. The novel's main character, Nick, roams West Madison Street and, to earn money, allows himself to be picked up by gay men, whom the book describes as "phonies." Motley's second novel, We Fished All Night, did not achieve the same level of success. His third novel, Let No Man Write My Epitaph, continued the story from Knock on Any Door. on March 4, 1965, Motley passed away in Mexico City, where he had moved later in life.
Did you know?
In 1993, organizers of the Bud Billiken Parade rejected a request from a black LGBT group to join the event. However, after legal intervention and the efforts of Lambda Legal, the Ad Hoc Committee of Proud Black Lesbians and Gays was permitted to take part in the parade the next year.