Bayard Rustin

Image retrieved from the Obama White House Archives.

Bayard Rustin is one of the biggest inspirations for this project, a hero I have only recently begun to understand. Rustin was an African-American gay man who worked tirelessly for civil rights and disrupted much, despite a lack of public recognition.

John D'Emilio (1999) describes Rustin as such:

“Whether the issue was Cold War militarism, segregation in the South, decolonization in Africa, or building an independent non-Stalinist left, Rustin was there. His single greatest triumph--orchestrating the historic 1963 March on Washington--was a tribute to his skills as an organizer.”

Born on March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin lived during times when it was dangerous to be Black or gay, let alone both. Raised by Quaker grandparents, he committed himself to values of nonviolence resistance. His grandmother was involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which exposed him to famous disruptors like W. E. B. Du Bois and Mary McLeod Bethune at an early age. Rustin worked with the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Congress of Racial Equality before and after being imprisoned for over two years as a conscientious objector of World War II. Many arrests followed in his nonviolent activism, inspired by Gandhi. Not all of his arrests were directly because of this though.

Rustin was arrested in 1953 after being found engaged in sexual activities with two men in a car. Senator Strom Thurmond used the public sex charge to out Rustin on the Senate floor two weeks before the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This caused much controversy over Rustin’s place in the Civil Rights Movement. Joshua H. Miller (2021) writes, “Rustin would often downplay his sexuality to preserve the movement’s Christian ethos. This image management was strategic as movement leaders believed the revelation of Rustin’s identity could negatively influence movement efforts.” While Bayard Rustin was defended by leaders following the very public outing, heteronormativity was not challenged by most. Instead, Rustin’s character, skills, accomplishments, and dedication to advancing civil rights were the focus. His sexuality remained problematic, and he was pushed out of the spotlight.

Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987, but his legacy lives on. There is so much more to understand about Rustin than just being an organizer for the 1963 March on Washington. He was a Black gay man who disrupted and resisted with the goal of liberating all oppressed people from violence. He faced opposition from so many for his intersectional identity, despite how persistently he worked. Miller (2021) further explains, “The lack of defense of Rustin’s sexuality shows how powerful ideologies constituted barriers to advocacy and change. When even exemplary eloquent advocates fail to overcome the confluence of harmful of ideologies, their advocacy still exposes the strength of oppressive norms and how those norms work together to marginalize and prevent transformation.”

As we ensure that Rustin’s legacy lives on, we should never forget the importance of his identity as a gay man and its implications on his life and activism.

Bayard Rustin (R) with his partner, Walter Naegle (L), 1986. Image retrieved from Making Gay History.

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References:

D'Emilio, J. (1999). Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Strategist. The Harvard Gay & Lesbian Review, 6(3), 12. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A55220400/AONE?u=temple_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=d2112796

Joshua H. Miller (2021) Bolstering Bayard Rustin: Collaborative Apologia, Heteronormativity, and the 1963 March of Washington, Southern Communication Journal, DOI: 10.1080/1041794X.2021.1995032

Stanford University. (2018, April 5). Rustin, Bayard. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Retrieved from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/rustin-bayard