Gay rights pioneer Bayard Rustin, mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., came out to fight homophobia

[Behind the Aegis]

In the battle against racism and homophobia, Bayard Rustin — the openly gay, trailblazing civil rights leader who mentored Martin Luther King, Jr. — refused to sit at the back of the bus.

Despite his amazing leadership and organizing skills — Rustin was the architectural genius of the 1963 March on Washington — Rustin was relegated to the shadows by other principals in the Civil Rights Movement because they thought his sexuality was a liability.

INTERSECTIONAL IDENTITY

Rustin, however, believed the struggle against discrimination and prejudice was intersectional and must be fought at the same time.

In a recently released audio interview conducted with the Washington Blade in the mid 1980s, Rustin, who died in 1987, said he decided to publicly come out in the 1940s after refusing to sit at the back of a segregated bus in the South, where Jim Crow laws flourished.

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[ms liberty]

1. I've always been fascinated by him and his story

A really interesting man. I've also always thought his story would make a great movie, with rhe right filmmaker and cast.

[rogue emissary]

2. Unfortunately, he's usually skipped over in movies about MLK or the March on Washington.

So I'd also love to see a movie about his life long struggle for civil rights.