What congressman said martin luther king jr was gay
Bayard Rustin, gay civil rights icon, pardoned by California governor for anti-gay charges
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s governor announced Wednesday that he is posthumously pardoning a gay civil rights commander while creating a recent pardon process for others convicted under outdated laws punishing homosexual activity.
Bayard Rustin was a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a key organizer of the Rally on Washington in 1963. He also helped arrange other nonviolent protests and boycotts to end racial discrimination.
Gov. Gavin Newsom pardoned Rustin for his arrest in 1953 when he was found having sex with two men in a parked car in Pasadena. He was in town as part of a lecture tour on anti-colonial struggles in West Africa.
He served 50 days in Los Angeles County jail and had to register as a sex offender before returning to his home state of New York. He died in 1987.
Newsom noted that police and prosecutors nationwide at the time used charges like vagrancy, loitering and sodomy to punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer (LGBTQ) people.
He issued an executive command creating what he called a new clemency initiative to identify those who might be eligible
The secretly gay advisor to Martin Luther King was an American hero who can't be forgotten
He was a Civil Rights leader that taught and practiced nonviolent complain. He is the deal with behind the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. After his death, he was praised by Republicans enjoy Ronald Reagan and Democrats such as Barack Obama. You’re likely picturing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. upon these descriptors, but this article is about his mentor, advisor, and friend. This is the story of Bayard Rustin.
Born on March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin never knew his father and his mother had him so young that he idea that she was his sister. Being raised by his grandparents, Rustin was instilled with their Quaker values, quoted as saying they “were based on the concept of a single human family and the belief that all members of that family are equal.”
@nprBayard Rustin may be the most consequential architect of the ‘60s civil rights movement you’ve never heard of. #NPR #ThroughlineNPR #blackhistorymonth
As a teenager, he wrote poetry and played football, eventually graduating and attending Wilberforce University, Cheney State Teachers College, and City College
Bayard Rustin
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Dr. Martin Lurther King, Jr. was a man of honor, kindness, and intellect. He helped to bring a fresh age within America and his teachings are still impactful in today’s contest for equality. And while it’s unhappy that we still have to march for Black Lives, with many still pushing back, we wouldn’t even be at this signal if it weren’t for MLK.
But even Dr. King needed help and directions. Almost no one climbs a mountain on their retain, after all. So who were some of the most impactful advisers and influences in MLK’s life? Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, there were several queer Black men who impacted Dr. King just as much as he impacted us. And here are a scant of those names and faces.
Social justice activist and organizer Bayard Rustin was considered one of Dr. King’s most trusted advisers. At one point, MLK considered Rustin as not only a mentor but also like a large brother. In reality, it’s believed that it was Rustin who introduced Mahatma Gandhi’s peaceful complain approach to Dr. King. In addition, Bayard Rustin organized the March on Washington and stood beside Dr. King as the head gave his iconic “I Have A Dream” spe
Bayard Rustin
Episode Notes
Bayard Rustin was a champion of the Shadowy civil rights movement—mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. But because he was homosexual and out, he faced bigotry inside and outside the movement. The FBI and Sen. Strom Thurmond tried to destroy him. But he persisted.
Episode first published January 10, 2019.
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From Eric Marcus: Bayard Rustin was a key behind-the-scenes leader of the Black civil rights movement—a proponent of nonviolent protest, a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the principal organizer of the landmark 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. And he was gay and open about it, which had everything to do with why he remained in the background and is tiny known today in comparison to other leaders of the civil rights movement.
My earliest memory of anything having to do with the civil rights movement is indelible, because it’s one of the rare memories I have of my father, who died in 1970. He was lying on the sofa in the living room of our small apartment watching D
Bayard Rustin: Why MLK’s Right-Hand Man Was Nearly Written Out of History
Instead of directly involving Rustin, King and Lewis held a caucus to nominate Randolph to lead the parade. Randolph, a respected figure in the movement, wouldn’t garner opposition from others.
“But King and Lewis also knew that if Randolph became the official director of the march, he would appoint Bayard as his deputy,” says Distant. “And Bayard would really be the one who would lead the march.”
So, with Randolph as the director and Rustin as his deputy, arrangements for the march were underway. And once again, Rustin’s past and personal being were used to strive and stop the movement. Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina brought nationwide media attention to Bayard after claiming that the march was being organized by “Communist, draft-dodger and homosexual.”
But it would look that the impact of what was once the movement’s Achilles’ heel had lost its effectiveness. Not only did King approach out in support of Rustin when questioned by the media, all of the leaders within the movement did. Even Wilkins put his reservations aside for the sake of progress.
The march went on to be more victorious than