Bayard Rustin (at the grand intersection of gays, blacks, hatred and progress)

[murphy]

just like many of my close friends (especially here on LJ), lately i have been stewing over the recent developments in the gay community's struggle for equality under the law and how it relates to the struggle of blacks in america. after nosing around a bit, i came upon a man named Bayard Rustin. now, in the interest of full disclosure, this is

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[soul_spider]

This is fascinating. I hadn't ever heard of Rustin. Thank you for the tip!

Another civil rights giant, NAACP Chair Dr. Julian Bond is also a pretty outspoken advocate for gay rights, particularly the right to marry. In fact, he skipped Coretta Scott King's funeral because it was held in a church run by a homophobic preacher. I guess King's daughter is herself outspoken against gay marriage while Coretta Scott King herself was in favor of it.

[bookbear]

I didn't go to the link, so I'm probably repeating here...but he also basically planned the Civil Rights March on Washington at which King delivered his famous speech. What's scary and fascinating is the infighting within the civil rights camps. There was a southern black leader who hated Rustin because of both his gayness and his proximity to King, which this guy wanted. So he threatened to publicly claim that King and Rustin were lovers or something unless King pushed Rustin aside and King let this guy get more recognition. So Rustin, being the guy he was stepped willingly into the shadows of history for the good of the cause. One of the reasons he's not mentioned mush, and his influence was initially downplayed...because he allowed it to.

At least, that's how I remember it from a documentary I saw quite a while ago. Hope I got that right.