Bayard Rustin

The Life of Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin, a gay civil rights leader, was kept in the shadows by the Civil Rights movement establishment, but organized the March on Washington. A Henry Louis Gate, Jr. blog post.

Rustin played a key role in advancing civil rights and economic justice. His partner, Walter Naegle, talks with BuzzFeed about that legacy on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the march Rustin made a reality.

The organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, an openly gay man, ignored criticism and pulled off one of the most crucial moments of the civil rights movement.

A close advisor to Martin Luther King and one of the most influential and effective organizers of the civil rights movement, Bayard Rustin was affectionately referred to as ‘‘Mr. March-on-Washington’’ by A. Philip Randolph (D’Emilio, 347). Rustin organized and led a number of protests in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The strategist behind the 1963 march will posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year. As a gay man, his position in the movement was questioned. But now he is considered "an amazing role model" for activists of color who are also gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Though he was chief strategist for King's march, Rustin was kept in the background as some organizers considered him a liability. He died in 1987, and is sometimes forgotten in civil rights history

Learn more about the life and work of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights organizer and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., at Biography.com.

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