Influential LGBT+ people from history: Bayard Rustin

“When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.”

A key advisor to Martin Luther King Jr, Bayard Rustin was a significant member of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He combined the pacifism of the Quaker religion, the non-violent teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, and the socialism of A. Philip Randolph.

Rustin was imprisoned many times for his beliefs. During the war he was jailed for refusing to register for the draft, in 1947 he was forced to work on a chain gang after protesting the segregated public transport system in North Carolina, and in 1953 he was arrested on a morals charge for having sex with men. After this last arrest, Rustin refused to go back in the closet and continue to campaign for civil rights as an openly gay man.

Rustin taught Martin Luther King Jr about Ghandi’s philosophy of non-violent protest and was a key organiser for the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in which King gave his iconic “I have a dream” speech.

In his later life, Rustin continued to advocate for the importance of economic equality within the Civil Rights movement, as well as for social rights for gays and lesbians. His writings were published in two major collections: Down the Line in 1971 and Strategies of Freedom in 1976.

He died at the age of 75 in New York, August 24, 1987.

LGBT professionals, LGBT Graduates, LGBT professional network, LGBT professional events, LGBT networking events, LGBT Recruitment, LGBT Friendly organisations, LGBT Friendly companies, LGBT jobs
__________________

SIGN UP to myGwork, the global networking and recruitment hub for LGBTI professionals and graduates

www.mygwork.com
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on LinkedIn