lgbt-history-archive:“When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity
lgbt-history-archive:“When an individual is protesting society’s refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity upon him.” – Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 - August 24, 1987). Picture: Rustin and his partner, Walter Naegle. Photo c/o Walter Naegle. Bayard Rustin, who died twenty-nine years ago today, played a fundamental role in the modern struggle for African American equality; Rustin, for example, worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington movement in the early 1940s, founded the Congress of Racial Equality in 1942, organized the first Freedom Rides in the late 1940s, and, in the late 1950s, taught Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the principles of non-violent resistance. As a close adviser to Dr. King, Rustin helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the 1963 March on Washington. While Rustin privately was open about his homosexuality, it became a matter of public record after he was arrested on morals charges in 1953. Rustin’s sexuality prompted many within the movement to distance themselves from him (earning him the nickname “Brother Outsider”), and the historical narrative of the civil rights era often downplays his leadership. Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987, at the age of seventy-five; he was survived by Walter Naegle, his partner of ten years. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #QueerHistoryMatter #HavePrideInHistory #BrotherOutsider #BayardRustin -- source link
#history#lgbt history#bayard rustin#walter naegle