Friday, March 16, 2012

Know Your LGBT History - Bayard Rustin



From the National Black Justice Coalition:

Saturday, March 17, 2012, will mark the 100th birthday of the late civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a proud Black gay man who was an indispensable architect of the Civil Rights Movement. His most noteworthy achievements include serving as chief organizer of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, mentoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and helping to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As an effective bridge builder across a broad range of demographics, he spent more than 60 years involved in social, racial, economic, class, labor, anti-war and other justice movements, both domestically and internationally.

However, the story of this visionary strategist and activist, who dared to live as an openly gay man during the violently homophobic 1940s, 50s, and 60s, has rarely been told in mainstream or Black media.

“Every year, during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday we hear the iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which was delivered at the 1963 March on Washington,” says Mandy Carter, one of the founders of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) and a current NBJC Leadership Advisory Council member. “Yet, most people do not know that Bayard Rustin, an out Black gay man, was the key organizer for that groundbreaking event. America needs to know that Bayard existed. Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and same-gender-loving people need to know that Rustin stood firm in his identity and, by his very presence, challenged others in the Civil Rights Movement to overcome homophobia.”

Carter adds, “As a young Black lesbian coming out in the mid-60s, there were no representations of out Black lesbians and gay men in the media. It would have had a profound impact on me to have had Bayard Rustin as a role model and to have known that I too could live authentically and be respected as an out Black lesbian social justice activist.”

To honor Rustin’s courage and his invaluable legacy, NBJC will spend this year celebrating the beloved “unsung hero” through its commissioned Bayard Rustin Centennial Project and in ongoing collaborations with Walter Naegle, Bayard’s surviving partner and Executor/Archivist of the Estate of Bayard Rustin. NBJC is also working with Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, co-producers and co-directors of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, a biographical documentary that asserts Rustin’s significance in American history.The recipient of more than 25 awards, Brother Outsider has been screened at The United Nations, The Kennedy Center, and for Members of Congress.

To celebrate this occasion, I thought it would be appropriate to feature videos of Mr. Rustin so we can gain inspiration by this simply awesome American hero:








Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

 Know Your LGBT History - Billy Preston

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

 Know Your LGBT History - Billy Tipton

Know Your LGBT History - Nell Carter

Know Your LGBT History - James Baldwin

 Know Your LBGT History - Paul Winfield

Know Your LGBT History - Barbara Jordan

Know Your LGBT History - Michael Jeter

Know Your LGBT History - All in the Family and Beverly LaSalle

Know Your LGBT History - The Lion in Winter

Know Your LGBT History - Saturday Night Live and 'Schmitts Gay'

 Know Your LGBT History - Brother to Brother

Know Your LGBT History - Shameless

Know Your LGBT History - Car Wash

Know Your LGBT History - The 37th anniversary of 'Flowers of Evil'

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Know Your LGBT History - 'The Fabulous Gays' of Steambath

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Know Your LGBT History - Gay characters from children's television show and movies

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Know Your LGBT History - The Wedding Banquet

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Know Your LGBT History - The Naked Civil Servant

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Know Your LGBT History - urban African-American movies

Know Your LGBT History - Charles Pierce

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The Jeffersons and the transgender community   









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2 comments:

Daniel Wachenheim said...

Thanks for reminding your readers about this amazing man. He did so much.

Linnea said...

He was indeed one of our country's unsung heroes.

There is a biography of Rustin out there. I think it's called "Lost Prophet," though I don't know the author's name off the top of my head.