Hello lovely people and welcome to another episode of Queer History 101- in long form!
If you haven’t seen, I’m now making Shorts here on YouTube- those are videos of less
than a minute that are hosted right here on YouTube and on the mobile app version have
their own area.
I’m currently doing a mix of vintage fashion with every month doing one week straight of
outfits at the start of the month and then Queer History 101, which is a series I was
doing on TikTok that I’m now bringing over to Shorts and will be continuing exclusively
on here, where I cover LGBTQ+ history in bitesize chunks.
Please do leave in the comments anything you would like to see.
Queer History and particularly ‘Historical Profile’ videos, where I look at just one
person are some of my favorites to make, and I get a lot of comments asking to see more
so of course the third video of the year had to be a historical profile!
Thank you to Surfshark for sponsoring today’s video, making it possible for me to do even
more research, with a secure VPN - more on them later!
Who are we talking about today?
Well… when we think back to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s in the United
States, Martin Luther King Jr is probably the name that comes to mind but there are
some other pretty amazing people you might not know about! For instance: did you know
that King’s right hand man and closest advisor, Bayard Rustin, not only planned the Million
Man March and spent his life fighting for the rights of others but was also openly gay?
They are in multiple pictures together but his name often seems to have been left off.
It feels like people have tried to erase him from history…
Well no more.
Let’s learn about this man who was proud to be who he was at a time when that was truly
extraordinary.
Bayard was born in 1912 and raised by his maternal grandparents, who he believed to
be his parents, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. The family were relatively wealthy as they
ran a catering business and could afford to keep all twelve children, of which Bayard
believed he was the ninth by birth order, in comfort.
His grandmother Julia was a Quaker and although she attended her husband’s African Methodist
Episcopal Church with the children she brought the children up with her own Quaker values
of equality, peace and justice, which explains her reaction to his childhood realisation
of sexuality when he mentioned that he preferred to spend time with men rather than women.
She responded, "I suppose that's what you need to do"
- excellent. A++ coming out reaction for a woman born in the 1800s
Grandma Julia was also a member of the NAACP and leaders of the group were frequent guests
at Rustin’s home. With these influences in his early life, Bayard was already campaigning
against racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws as a youth.
- that’s the name for state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern
United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Although by ‘early’
I do mean ‘over halfway though’
Thus his beliefs were a combination of his religious and cultural background; quaker
values of peace, the non-violent methods taught by Mahatma Gandhi, and the socialism endorsed
by African American labor leader A. Philip Randolph.
In 1932, Bayard entered Wilberforce University, a historically black college in Ohio and was
active in a number of campus organizations, including the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. However
he was expelled four years later after organizing a strike.
After completing an activist training program run by the American Friends Service Committee,
which is a Quaker founded organization working for peace and social justice in the United
States and around the world,
Yeah, friends are quakers.
I have a video on Quakersim it's right here.
I’m a Quaker, I forgot to say that!
Rustin moved to Harlem, New York, in 1937 and began studying at City College of New
York. He became involved in efforts to defend and free the Scottsboro Boys, nine young black
men in Alabama who were accused of raping two white women.
- which, by the way, is one of those huge and painful miscarriages of justice that make
you look at the people in positions of power and go
“come on, you’re all in on this, right? None of you actually BELIEVED this was an
okay thing you were doing, did you? Did you? You know they’re children, right? Like you
are aware you are the villains in this film?”
He joined the Young Communist League; he was initially drawn to the league’s progressive
views on racial issues.
At the direction of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and its members
were active in the civil rights movement as the CPUSA at the time followed Stalin's "theory
of nationalism", favoring the creation of a separate nation for African Americans.
This was to be located in the American Southeast where the greatest proportion of the black
population was concentrated.
However, in 1941, after Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the group’s focus changed
to supporting the Soviet Union, encouraging the US to join World War II and abandoning
their civil rights work, leading Bayard to leave the league.
Understandably.
Remember he was extremely against war, he is a pacifist, going so far as refusing to
register for the draft and being sent to jail in 1944 as a “conscientious objector”.
He worked with A. Philip Randolph, the head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
and A. J. Muste, leader of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) a socialist, pacifist
group where Bayard worked as race relation secretary in the late summer of 1941, to propose
a march on Washington DC in 1941 to protest racial segregation in the armed forces and
widespread discrimination in employment.
On Meeting with President Roosevelt in the Oval Office, Randolph respectfully and politely,
but firmly told President Roosevelt that African Americans would march in the capital unless
desegregation occurred.
To prove their good faith, the organizers canceled the planned march after Roosevelt
issued Executive Order 8802 (the Fair Employment Act), which banned discrimination in defense
industries and federal agencies.
Bayard diiiiiiidn’t really believe the president
but the organizer of the march, Randolph, cancelled it anyway because he did!
The armed forces were not desegregated until 1948, under an Executive Order issued by President
Harry S. Truman.
So…
Bayard then traveled to California to organise other volunteers in the protection of the
property of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans (most of whom were U.S.-born citizens)
who had been imprisoned in internment camps.
Which is a whole other thing!
Impressed with Rustin's organizational skills, A.J. Muste appointed him as FOR's secretary
for student and general affairs.
Throughout the 1950’s Rustin quickly became part of King’s inner circle, as the Civil
Rights Movement grew
- although others still considered him a liability!
Which you know what IS a liability though? Your unprotected wifi
As mentioned earlier, this video is sponsored by Surfshark, so a massive thanks to them
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In the 1987 interview Rustin took with the Village Voice he stated:
“It’s difficult for me to know what Dr. King felt about gayness except to say that
I’m sure he would have been sympathetic and would not have had the prejudicial view.
Otherwise he would not have hired me.”
“I think the gay community has a moral obligation … to do whatever is possible to encourage
more and more gays to come out of the closet.”...
“Twenty-five, 30 years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were
black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people
in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, lesbian.”
Rustin was also a pioneer in the movement
to desegregate interstate bus travel.
As a reminder, obviously different states have different laws. In some states the buses
would be segregated and others wouldn’t.
In 1942, he boarded a bus in Louisville, bound for Nashville, and sat in the second row.
He was asked to move to the back, according to Southern practice of Jim Crow, but refused.
The bus was stopped by police 13 miles north of Nashville and Rustin was arrested.
He was beaten and taken to a police station
but was released uncharged.
He spoke about his decision to be arrested, and how that moment also clarified his witness
as a gay person, in an interview with the Washington Blade:
“As I was going by the second seat to go to the rear, a white child reached out for
the ring necktie I was wearing and pulled it, whereupon its mother said, "Don't touch
a n*****." If I go and sit quietly at the back of that
bus now, that child, who was so innocent of race relations that it was going to play with
me, will have seen so many blacks go in the back and sit down quietly that it's going
to end up saying, "They like it back there, I've never seen anybody protest against it."
I owe it to that child, not only to my own dignity, I owe it to that child, that it should
be educated to know that blacks do not want to sit in the back, and therefore I should
get arrested, letting all these white people in the bus know that I do not accept that.
It occurred to me shortly after that that it was an absolute necessity for me to declare
homosexuality because if I didn't I was a part of the prejudice. I was aiding and abetting
the prejudice that was a part of the effort to destroy me.”
And thus, he did. After more than 10 years working at FOR, in
1953 Bayard was fired from his position as Secretary for Student and General Affairs.
He was arrested in Pasadena charged with “sex perversion” for having sex with another
man.
This was, sadly, one of many times that Rustin’s sexuality would be used against him.
However in 1956, his mentor Randolph convinced Bayard to meet with Martin Luther King Jr,
to show support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. ML King, only young at the time, was forever
changed after his encounter with Bayard.
Bayard wrote that when they met, King was aware of Rustin’s sexual orientation. Bayard
demonstrated excellent strategies and skills, particularly in organisation.
Although King was a strong leader and great public speaker these were skills he lacked.
Meaning Bayard being an openly gay man was overlooked…at least for the time being.
Which is obviously a very interesting insight considering it was at the height of the AIDS
crisis. Something the US government did not respond to incredibly wel (!)
But that’s a video for another time.
1960 saw tensions come to a head at the Democratic National Convention for presidential candidate
John F Kennedy in LA. Randolph, King, and Rustin made arrangements to march at the Convention.
In response, democratic leadership sent black congressman Adam Clayton Powell to stop the
march before it happened
…and he used Rustin’s sexual orientation as his weapon!
Powell threatened King, telling him if they proceeded with the march, he would accuse
King of having an affair with Bayard! This would not only kill the march, but also a
possibly fatal blow to the whole Movement.
…I can certainly understand this is something MLK would need to avoid and put the Movement
first!
After consulting with close confidants, King decided to distance himself from Bayard. Although
Rustin was reluctant to resign!
Prior to the Washington march from 1960- 1963, Rustin continued working with Randolph on
civil rights issues. During these years Rustin wasn’t involved in organising marches, and
the movement saw little progress.
It then became clear to ML King that the movement, so many people sacrificed their lives for,
was losing it’s memento. King slowly but surely welcomed Rustin back during the Birmingham
Campaign of 1963.
Unfortunately for Bayard, certain people within the movement still opposed his involvement,
because of their perception of him. Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the NAACP, stated:
“I know you’re a Quaker, but that’s not what I’ll have to defend. I’ll have
to defend draft dodging. I’ll have to defend promiscuity,” … “The question is never
going to be homosexuality, it’s going to be promiscuity, and I can’t defend that.”
Due to this criticism, which they would inevitably receive, King came up with a plan to keep
Bayard involved but in a less obvious way. King wanted Randolph to lead the march, as
a respected figure in the moment he wouldn't attract the same questioning as Bayard.
Long stated:
“But King and Lewis also knew that if Randolph became the official director of the march,
he would appoint Bayard as his deputy,” … “and Bayard would really be the one
who would lead the march.”
Bayard’s personal life and past were again, unfairly, used against the movement. Senator
Strom Thurmond of South Carolina negative media attention to Bayard, claiming the march
was organized by “Communist, draft-dodger and homosexual.”
I mean… I'd put that on a badge and wear it but… sure.
Thankfully, what once would have destroyed the movement, had at this point lost its effectiveness.
When questioned by the media, ML King and other leaders in the organisation, spoke out
in support of Rustin. Even Wilkins put his reservations aside for the sake of the movement.
You may not know this… but Bayard Rustin organized the 1963 March on Washington and
stood beside ML King as he gave the iconic “I Have A Dream” speech. This is yet another
example of how the force behind the march was massively over-looked, most likely due
to Bayard’s sexsuality.
The Washington march went on to be more successful than anyone could’ve imagined, and marked
a turning point for both the country and for Rustin.
Following this success, Rustin and King continued to work together for years, although their
views still clashed from time to time of course!
The famous Selma to Montgomery march occurred as part of the Civil Rights Movement in 1965,
in Alabama. Protesters, including Rustin and King, marched the 54-mile route from Selma
to Montgomery, with hopes to register Black voters in the South.
They were confronted with violence from local authorities and white vigilante groups, which
became deadly! They walked for three days straight, under protection from the National
Guard’s troops the protesters finally achieved their goal!
This march lived on in history for its great efforts and the changes achieved. They raised
awareness of the difficulties faced by Black voters and the need for a national Voting
Rights Act.
This event has been depicted in the media many times, the Selma to Montgomery march
has rightfully been featured; on TV, in films, books and the news.
However as you can imagine these retellings are not always 100 per cent historically accurate.
Although Bayard Rustin was heavily involved in this march, he has not been mentioned in
any media re-telling.
In the Academy Award-nominated 2014 film Selma, it features Martin Luther King taking on other
figures of authority in the small Alabama town, as part of the fight for equal voting
rights. President Lyndon B. Johnson, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, Andrew Young, leaders of
the SCLC… they were all figures of authority, from Alabama, featured in the film.
All given screen time, except one man: Bayard Rustin.
Where is he at?
Rustin doesn’t get identified to the viewer in Selma despite his influence on MLK. Rustin’s
work behind the scenes barely received screen time, he is the one key player whose name
is never spoken during the film’s 127 minutes.
His role in the planning and participation in important events in the Civil Rights Movement,
and his influence on King, have often been blatantly omitted from cinema.
On IMBD.com a search for Bayard Rustin produces very limited results, however a search for
MLK provides more than 20 biographical films and TV characterisations of the leader, not
many of them including his closest adviser.
Walter Naegle was Rustin’s partner for the last 10 years of his life, Naegle believed
the lack of Rustin-centred films or even films that included him, was due to Hollywood’s
slow acceptance of homosexsuality.
“He was gay, and the popular culture is just warming up to the idea of gay lead characters
and, unfortunately, they are usually somewhat stereotypical,”
Naegle, co-wrote the biography: “Bayard Rustin: The Invisible Activist”:
“The idea of a strong, gay, black man who was athletic in his youth, and an activist,
intellectual, and political strategist as an adult may be difficult to condense into
a single man. Yet that’s who Bayard was and that was what made him exceptional.”
I’m sure many of you can recall from history lessons, MLK was tragically assassinated in
1968.
Prior to his death, sadly King and Rustin had another disagreement. Bayard questioned
the Poor People’s Campaign and if the demonstration would even have an effect on things. Rustin
supported fighting for people in poverty in the country, but he doubted the timing, fearing
it could lead to violence in already struggling communities. After voicing his opinions publicly,
King felt betrayed and dismissed Rustin from the planning team.
However, after King’s assassination, Rustin flew to Memphis offering to step back in and
help lead the campaign.
Sadly leadership within the movement were still opposed to Bayard’s involvement, so
without King there to support him Rustin withdrew his agreement.
Rustin continued his role in activism throughout his lifetime. In the 1980’s he became more
open and honest about his sexsuality, speaking at events for gay rights, he even put the
AIDS crisis on the NAACP’s radar.
In the last years of his life, Rustin gave an interview with the Washington Blade, recalling
the hardships of being both black and gay in the Civil Rights Movement.
He spoke about how that shaped his beliefs, especially his refusal to ever hide his sexuality.
Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987 just four days shy of the march’s 24th anniversary.
Rustin’s fight for nonviolence lived on among many people inspired by his perseverance
for rights!
In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his
incredible career in civil rights activism…
That wasn’t recognised enough during Rustin’s lifetime or even now! But we can be grateful
that a President like Obama was another step in the right direction and he was able to
honour Rustin’s efforts all those years ago.
As I have spoken about today there simply wasn’t enough media coverage of people like
Rustin, as a black gay man. However, we may expect and hope things have changed by now
in 2022…
I hope you’ve found this video interesting and that you've learned something about Bayard
Rustin and that we keep talking about him and others who history might have forgotten
to give the recognition they deserve.
If you’ve enjoyed this video you can look into my historical profiles playlist where
I look into other very interesting people that history might have not told you about…
or might have not told you about in the right way!
Were they gay too?
Maybe!
Yeah they were.
Or disabled!
I know, fascinating.
You can either click the card here or the link in the description down there. What else
is down there? Oh, a link to Surfshark’s unmissable offer? Stunning!
I'll see you in my next video who also has Claudia hah!
Bye!