Bayard Rustin Residence (by Asha Deharder)

Bayard Rustin Residence

Activist Bayard Rustin’s residence was located in  the West Chelsea section of Manhattan in a tenement building called the Penn South Complex. Sponsored by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, these mutual redevelopment houses were built in 1962. The redevelopment houses strove to provide affordable cooperative houses. 

 The development consisted of 22 brick buildings reaching over 36 acres, and Rustin resided in Building 7. In 1962, Rustin moved into Apartment 9J in Building 7 where he would remain until his death in 1987. 

Bayard Rustin was an influential activist from the 1930’s to the 1980’s. It is impossible to put Rustin into one particular category. He was a Quaker, a civil rights activist, a singer, a nonviolence activist, a socialist, and a gay man. Even from a young age, Rustin was surrounded by activism. His grandmother, a quaker and an NAACP member, instilled in him the values of pacifism and social progress. In high school, he organized a sit-in at a local segregated cinema and protested Jim Crow laws. He was described as “an angelic troublemaker.” Although he was academically competent in college, his activism eventually got him in trouble. So, Rustin trained as a peace volunteer and moved to Harlem. He briefly worked with the Young Communists League, a choice that  marred his reputation for years. Starting in the early 1940’s, Rustin worked for thirteen years with the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Again, his pacifism can be traced back to his Quaker upbringing. During this time, he was able to merge pacifist issues and Black civil rights issues. In 1943, Rustin was drafted for World War II. He evaded conscription due to his belief system and was put in jail from 1944-1946. After this, he travelled around the world to learn about other culture’s methods of nonviolence. During a tour of Africa, he became involved with movements for decolonization. 

In the early 1950’s, Rustin’s focus shifted from pacifism to civil rights. In 1955, he joined a group called “In Friendship” whose goal was to help Black Southern activists. After the mass bus boycotts of Montgomery in 1955, Rustin was introduced to Martin Luther King Jr. After this, Rustin shifted his focus fully to civil rights. When he wasn’t writing about racial equality, he was raising funds for Black boycotts and nonviolent protests. Rustin began to work with MLK to establish a permanent nationwide organization to promote racial justice. These plans eventually became the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1960, he fully committed to the SCLC and became the associate director and administrative assistant for MLK. 

King’s colleagues began to pressure Rustin to step down from his position. Although they said it was due to his influence over King, Rustin was also colloquilly known to be gay. Although Rustin wouldn’t deny his sexuality, he wasn’t by any means a gay rights activist at this time. In 1986, he said: “I did not ‘come out of the closet’ voluntarily—circumstances forced me out. While I have no problem with being publicly identified as a homosexual, it would be dishonest of me to present myself as one who was in the forefront of the struggle for gay rights … While I support full equality, under law, for homosexuals, I fundamentally consider sexual orientation to be a private matter.” People in the LGBTQ+ community can be known for their work outside of gay activism. Yes, Bayard Rustin was gay, but his life’s work was focused elsewhere. At this time, there was still homophobia in the Civil Rights movement. There was not an intersectional space to focus on both of the oppressions he faced. Although his resignation from SCLC was a personal blow, he continued to work with numerous civil rights and pacifists organizations. In 1963, he organized and led the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

 His friendship with King endured, although his work with him was strictly behind the scenes. Despite his intelligence and competency, he had a difficult time finding a permanent position due to his sexuality. Throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, Rustin turned his attention to international humanitarian missions.

Rustin with the Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir. 

1976. 

 Only after he met his partner, Walter Naegle, in 1977, did he become involved in gay activism. He lobbied New York City Mayor Ed Koch, brought awareness to AIDS, fought for the Gay and Lesbian Rights Bill in NYC, and was  interviewed by  gay historians. In 1987, Rustin passed away from an illness he caught on a humanitarian mission in Haiti. 

The longevity and impact of Bayard Rustin’s career is admirable. His activism spanned from the 1930’s to the 1980’s and stretched across many borders. Aside from being many other amazing things, he was also a gay man. When he was born in 1912, gay men were considered to be deviant, mentally ill,  and perverted. By his death in 1987, America had seen advancements in gay rights such as the founding of the Mattachine Society, the Gay Liberation Front, and the Daughters of Bilitis, as well as the Stonewall Riots, the Sexual Liberation Movement, and the AIDS epidemic. Although Rustin  wasn’t a gay activist until late in his life, his experiences give insight into the particular struggles faced by black gays and lesbians and the homophobia that existed within the Civil Rights Movement. In order to continue his activism, he had to downplay  his sexuality. Rustin  is an excellent example of the modern concept ofintersectionality. He didn’t have one singular cause, but fought in many movements and for multiple causes.. 

Bayard Rustin’s apartment in Building 7 of the Penn South Complex is equally significant because it is where he lived during his years as a gay activist. It was also the primary residence of Rustin’s, as he lived there from 1962 to 1987. Apartment 9J, therefore, reflects the spirit and life of Bayard Rustin. 

Despite the  difficulties he faced throughout his life, he is remembered fondly. In a 1987 interview with Open Hands he stated that “gay men and lesbians have now become the barometer and the litmus test of human rights attitudes and social change.” In 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Bayard Rustin the Medal of Freedom for his life’s work. Despite the hardships that he endured as a gay Black man in the 20th century, he is now commended for his pacifist values and intersectional activism. 

Work Cited

“Bayard Rustin.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, November 8, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin. 

“Bayard Rustin; Gay Civil Rights Activist.” Black History Month 2020, June 10, 2020. https://www.Blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-heroes/bayard-rustin-gay-man-in-the-civil-rights-movement/.

“Bayard Rustin Residence (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed November 12, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/places/bayard-rustin-residence.htm. 

Brownworth, Victoria A. “Bayard Rustin: A Radical Gay Icon For Our Time.” Philadelphia Gay News, February 28, 2020. 

“Igal Roodenko Residence / Bayard Rustin Residence.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. Accessed November 12, 2020. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/igal-roodenko-bayard-rustin-residence/. 

Marcus, Eric. “Bayard Rustin.” Making Gay History. Making Gay History, August 6, 2019. https://makinggayhistory.com/podcast/bayard-rustin/. 

“National Register of Historic Places Registration Form.” U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed November 12, 2020.

https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000062.pdf