The Gay Quaker Civil Rights Organizer That History Forgot
Bayard Rustin was almost certainly the most famous American Quaker of the twentieth century—even before he became the subject of an Oscar-nominated biographical film in 2023. Our latest video is a mini-documentary on Rustin and his advocacy work for civil rights and economic justice.
“Bayard wanted to see a world of racial equality, justice, human equality . . . a lot of the values that grow out of the Quaker faith,” his longtime partner, Walter Naegle, told us as part of a wide-ranging conversation on Rustin’s life and legacy. We also spoke with Carlos Figueroa, a professor at Ithaca College who is working on a biography of Rustin, to fill in some of the historical and political context to his activism.
Transcript and Discussion Questions Available Here
Produced by Layla Cuthrell
Support QuakerSpeak at QuakerSpeak.com/donate
We want to hear from you, not an AI! Please be thoughtful and use your own words. Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.