A Gay Man Behind The Dream: Remembering Bayard Rustin

With the passing of the 48th anniversary of the great March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King’s milestone speech, “I Have a Dream,” once again, a gay black civil rights organizer and strategist has been forgotten. This man was someone who greatly influenced both Dr. King and the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, and deserves to be remembered by all Americans and honored by the LGBT community as a hero.

Bayard Rustin, born in 1912, studied the nonviolence philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, and never sought the spotlight, but his impact on American social movements of the 20th century is undeniable.

A Quaker and a talented singer Rustin became involved in the gay rights movement during his later years. Sadly the dedication ceremony of Dr. King’s Memorial was rained out because of Hurricane Irene. Yet his legacy will never be dimmed or overlooked. However many are unaware of Rustin who played an incredibly influential role in the young Atlantan preacher’s life.

A gay black man from Westchester, Pennsylvania, Rustin was involved in nonviolent direct action against discrimination while Martin Luther King Jr. was still in college. And he was out when precious few gays journeyed beyond the closet. In fact, in 1953, Rustin was convicted and spent 60 days in a California jail for “sex perversion,” which was consensual sex with a man in a car. However, this experience never slowed down Rustin who went on to become an influential advisor to both civil rights and labor leaders.

During his tenure with the War Resister’s League, Rustin met Dr. King and began working directly with him. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he was advising Dr. King on Gandhian nonviolent tactics. In fact, the March on Washington was mainly organized by Rustin with the full support of labor leader A. Philip Randolph. Life Magazine featured the two of them on its cover shortly after the march. Both civil rights leaders and white segregationists disparaged Rustin for being gay. However, we might never have heard “I Have a Dream” if it wasn’t for this persistent and dedicated gay black man.

In addition, Rustin quickly recognized King’s leadership and helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference around him. Later he was forced to resign, despite Dr. King’s support, from the same organization he was responsible for forming due to his being out.

Other activities Rustin engaged in before King even appeared on the landscape, included travelling to California to help protect the property of Japanese Americans imprisoned in internment Camps during WWII, and co-organizing the Journey of Reconciliation, which was the first of the Freedom Rides – directly testing the Supreme Court ruling which banned racial segregation in interstate travel.

Every August 28th America pauses and remembers Dr. King’s eloquent and visionary words from the steps of the Lincoln Monument. Perhaps we can also begin remembering the gay man who was influential and prominent behind the podium, Bayard Rustin.

Guantanamo put on trial -- May 27th

In eight days, Eve Tetaz, a 76-year old retired D.C. public schoolteacher, will enter a courthouse in Washington, D.C. and engage in the legal debate over the fate of America's detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The name of Noor Muhammad has never appeared in an American criminal court. On May 27th, Tetaz will change that. On that day, she will appear at the Washington, D.C. Superior Court as Noor Muhammad. Tetaz was arrested, along with 78 others, at the U.S. Supreme Court on January 11, 2008, protesting the denial of habeas rights to and the torture of inmates at Guantanamo. Like her fellow protestors, Tetaz took the name of an inmate during her arrest. ( See the January 13 Washington Post article "Activists Pose as Guantanamo Prisoners" ) Tetaz says she felt compelled to participate in the protest at the Supreme Court because detainees are being tortured at Guantanamo. "Torture is a terrible crime and sin against humanity," she said. Thirty-four ...

The Sad and Disturbing Tale of Dustin Thompson

Wow, it has been a while since I have written a blog entry. In fact, it has been a year, and I have a lot to fill you in on. But let's get down to what I covered via Tweets recently -- the insurrectionist Trial of Dustin Thompson, of Ohio, who entered into the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, and stole first a bottle of booze and then a coat rack from the office of the Senate Parliamentarian. Yesterday Thompson was convicted on all six criminal counts the Department of Justice had charged him with. There have now been about a half dozen January 6th insurrectionists (many call them rioters) who have been convicted following a trial. About 170 have already plead guilty. Growing up in central Ohio, Thompson was originally a libertarian with moderate political views overall. According to his wife Sarah, the two met when they were both students at Ohio State University, Thompson had a double major of history and psychology. Sarah, a democrat, was a fashion merchandising major an...

Rev. Yearwood attacked by police, arrested, injured

This is American democracy in action. My friend, Rev. Yearwood, was jumped by these six power-tripping Capitol Hill Police officers. He was wearing a button which read "I love the people of Iraq." I have seen the video a couple of times, and while it is disturbing it will be useful in court. If it was me, I'd probably pursue a civil case for damages. Rev. in hospital after anti-war arrest Published: Sept. 12, 2007 at 11:28 AM WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- An anti-war minister and U.S. Air Force veteran was treated in hospital after his arrest by Capitol Hill police outside this week’s Iraq congressional hearings. The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president of the Washington-based Hip-Hop Caucus, was charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer after being denied entry to a House hearing room in which Gen. David Petraeus was giving evidence Monday, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider told United Press International. But a video of his arrest, post...

Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

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