“In the Life”: Bayard Rustin and the Need for LGBTQ+ Solidarity

Starting on January 29, 2025, a two-day program titled “In the Life: Queer Activists and the Civil Rights Movement,” will educate University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia community members on Bayard Rustin’s legacy as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s advisor and as a queer Black man who greatly contributed to the overall success of the Civil Rights Movement. The COLOURS Organization will collaborate with the University of Pennsylvania student organization QBlack, the Penn Center for AIDS Research Community Advisory Board (CFAR CAB), and Penn’s Office of Inclusion Initiatives and Social Justice Education to host this program as part of the Penn African-American Resource Center’s (AARC) annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Symposium on Social Change. As the primary consultant/strategist on this project, it has been an honor to watch it all come together these past few months – I am eager to share this message as widely as possible.

Bayard Rustin (1912–1987) was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement, known for organizing the March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Rustin was a staunch advocate for nonviolent resistance, was deeply involved in activism, and as his advisor he reinforced these principles in King. However, his legacy has not received nearly as much recognition as other civil rights leaders.

Rustin did not truly fit into the conventional leadership mold, which prioritized straight male religious authority figures. Many, including his fellow organizers, used his homosexual identity to discredit him. While he was an openly gay man, unbound by societal shame, Rustin’s contributions were intentionally overshadowed due to others’ homophobia. His prior association with communist groups garnered additional suspicion from more mainstream political figures, fueling their efforts to diminish his visibility within the movement.

We know more about him today, due in no small part to the efforts of his partner, Walter Naegle, who went to great lengths to educate our broader society about Rustin’s achievements and contributions. Without this outreach, which paved the way for films and other educational content focused on Rustin’s life, many of us would have never learned about him. It is important that we all do. In addition to recognizing Rustin as an individual within a key historical context, understanding how his diminishment came about is important for conceptualizing many obstacles that followed the Civil Rights Movement.

For instance, our failure to address and eliminate homophobia within the Black community (and the country in general) left us largely defenseless against the rapid, nearly uncontrollable spread of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. The HIV/AIDS crisis continues, primarily harming communities of color in the United States. Despite decades of advocacy and education, we are still fighting against systemic barriers that limit our access to education and preventative care.

Ending Racism USA recognizes the importance of highlighting the work of both Rustin and King from these complex angles, hopefully demonstrating to everyone the ways in which the past harms committed against the LGBTQ+ community during the Civil Rights Movement leak into our present realities. Stay tuned for a detailed reflection on both days of the program! And if you have not already, please check out our “Rustin” movie review, written by the late Edward McNulty and the article “Bayard Rustin’s Dedication and Vision Resonate Today” on our website.