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This essay by Bayard Rustin reveals a personal account of MLK's feelings toward gay people. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom espoused the idea that all Americans were equal, and were to be judged on their actions, not on immutable factors like race. Below, we examine five ways the legacy of Martin Luther King as it applies to the LGBT community.

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom espoused the idea that all Americans were equal, and were to be judged on their actions, not on immutable factors like race. For many, queer Black folk in particular, his stance on LGBTQ+ rights is a topic of much conversation. He was Bayard Rustin, a man whose life was shaped by the very prejudices the movement fought against, not only because of his race, but also because he was gay.

During his lifetime, Martin Luther King Jr was not a vocal advocate for gay rights (he was assassinated a year before Stonewall, in ), nor did he speak out against them. It was through his interest in socialism that Rustin met his mentor, A. Philip Randolph. But the meeting would mark the beginning of a long, sometimes tenuous relationship between the two.

He was Bayard Rustin, a man whose life was shaped by the very prejudices the movement fought against, not only because of his race, but also because he was gay. Last Updated: May 28, On the morning of August 28,Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While King spoke as the face of the civil rights movementanother man stood behind the scenes, an indispensable force within the movement. During his lifetime, Martin Luther King Jr was not a vocal advocate for gay rights (he was assassinated a year before Stonewall, in ), nor did he speak out against them.

Civil rights activist Bayard Rustin advised Martin Luther King Jr. and organized the March on Washington — but was ostracized for his sexuality.

For many, queer Black folk in particular, his stance on LGBTQ+ rights is a topic of much conversation. To the hundreds of thousands who were bused to Washington for the march, Rustin was synonymous with the movement. And so when Rustin arrived in Montgomery, Dr. King to accept pacifism as a way of life. And though he was gay, his legacy remains little known among many in the LGBTQ. After leaving the group, Rustin shifted his attention to socialism, joining the Fellowship of Reconciliation FOR in The group, led at the time by A.

Muste, advocated for peace, labor rights and equality for all people—unless those people were gay. Bayard Rustin, one of MLK's key advisers, overcame countless personal challenges as he guided the fight equal rights. At the urging of Rustin, pacifism and nonviolence would become cornerstones of the civil rights movement. And though he was gay, his legacy remains little known among many in the LGBTQ.

And Rustin thrived in an environment like that. Bayard Rustin was an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. and the organizer behind the March on Washington. This essay by Bayard Rustin reveals a personal account of MLK's feelings toward gay people. Rustin would spend his life fighting for the rights of others, even while facing discrimination of his own.

He was Bayard Rustin, a man whose mlk jr gay was shaped by the very prejudices the movement fought against, not only because of his race, but also because he was gay. Below, we examine five ways the legacy of Martin Luther King as it applies to the LGBT community. InRustin, along with Randolph and Muste, had proposed a March on Washington to combat the discrimination of black workers in the defense department.

Born in and raised by his grandparents in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Rustin learned Quaker values of nonviolence and peace from an early age. A young King would be forever changed after his encounter with Rustin. His confidence in those beliefs and in himself were reinforced by his grandmother, Julia Rustin, who affirmed his sexuality—a response that was nearly unheard of at the time.

Bayard Rustin was an adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. and the organizer behind the March on Washington. Before the march could come to fruition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that opened up the defense industry to black workers—but the bond between Rustin and Randolph would last for decades.