F lO f TS /7$ind*R February 27,2013 ’/ W W W - J - i c I f l ■*4 a /T a ^ i r % Portland Observer Black £ 59K9 History Month Page 5 Bayard Rustin: An Unsung Hero his being gay and referred to his longtime partner by euphemism only. Even today, his name is not nearly as well known as the other greats of the Civil Rights move ment. This Black History Month, we should not forget trailblazers like Rustin. Out of dedication to his life and legacy, let us uplift the stories of LGBT African-Americans who felt and still feel the burdens of discrimi nation — those whose very lives illustrate the insistent fact that the fight to treat all people equally is both this country’s greatest accom plishment and its greatest unfin ished obligation. Today, the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization, and the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization, are proud to work to gether toward equality. And we're proud that President Barack Obama used his second inaugural address to link the Civil Rights movement and the LGBT Equality movement just last month. But long before a president like Barack Obama was even possible, Bayard Rustin was preaching an equal future. We shouldn't forget his sacrifice, and the greatest tribute to his legacy would be to finish his work. Benjamin Todd Jealous is presi dent and chief executive officer o f the NAACP, and Chad Griffin is president o f the Human Rights Campaign. ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ Bayard Rustin, a chief organizer o f the 1 9 6 3 March on Washing ton and an aide to Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., attends a news briefing on the civil rights march. As an openly gay man, Rustin was attacked by everyone - Congressmen and activists, black and white - simply for living openly. Lifetime of Civil Rights battles were marginalized by his sexuality B enjamin T odd J ealous and C had G riffin by for living openly. Yet, at a time when few others would, Rustin proudly A decade before Rosa Parks' ar wore that label. rest for refusing to give up her seat To Bayard Rustin, fighting for on a Montgomery, Ala. bus, police his equality as a black man, while dragged Bayard Rustin off a bus in leaving his identity as a gay man Tennessee for the same act of pro unspoken, would have been an test. unthinkable betrayal. When pressed about why he was It was his firm belief that silence resisting segregation, Rustin ges about either identity meant he ac tured to a young white boy seated cepted the system of discrimination at the front of the bus. that allowed hatred about both to "If I sit in the back," Rustin said, persist. "I am depriving that child of the Long before it was easy or safe, knowledge that there is injustice Rustin was motivated to live openly. here, which I believe is his right to He could have hidden the fact that know." he was gay. Bayard Rustin, an often unsung When confronted about it, he hero of the civil rights movement, could have lied - that's what every spent his entire life exposing injus one did in those days. But Bayard tice in our nation. Even before he Rustin was exceptional. served as lead organizer o f the 1963 He lived openly because to do March on Washington where Dr. otherwise would be a missed oppor Martin Luther King, Jr. declared his tunity in exposing the injustice and dream, Rustin was labeled a Com intolerance he, along with other munist and a radical by the govern members of the LGBT community, ment. experienced. When he traveled to the segre Despite a lifetime lived in service gated South during the first-ever to justice and nonviolence, Rustin's Freedom Rides, he experienced a legacy was marginalized by his sexu barrage of racial slurs and violence. ality. But in America, in the 1950s and His 1987 New York Times obitu 60s, no label stuck to Bayard Rustin ary demonstrated the evasive lan quite like "homosexual." As an guage about LGBT people that was openly gay man, Rustin was attacked all too common in the media just a by everyone — Congressmen and few short years ago. activists, black and white -- simply The obituary skirted the topic of Get over it. Get screened A colonoscopy can save your life. Free c o m m u n ity e v e n ts Monday, March 11 W e know. It's not a test you're looking forw ard to. But because colon cancer has 1130 a.m. to 1 p.m. Providence Milwaukie Hospital Mother Gamelin and Mother Joseph conference rooms 10150 SE 32nd Ave. Milwaukie (Lunch provided) no early w arning signs and can be deadly if it progresses, screening is essential. Colorectal cancer is highly preventable. If caught early, it's highly curable. If you are African-American and age 45 or older, ask Tuesday, A pril 2 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Providence Willamette Falls Community Center 519 15th St. Oregon City (Lunch provided) your doctor about colon cancer screening. Free community events March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness M onth, and w e ll be talking about colon Friday. A pril 5 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Providence S t Vincent Medical Center Souther Auditorium 9205 SW Barnes Road Portland (Lunch provided) cancer prevention and treatm ent. Join us a t one o f our free events. Space is lim ited, and reservations are required. For more information or to register, please call Providence Resource Line at 503-574-6595 Cancer Talk Series: Monday, March 11 or visit www.providence.org/coloncancer. Free community events are in partnership with: < n It's not just health care, it's h o w w e care* r* J? S " . 6:30 to 8 p.m. Providence Portland Medical Center Cancer Center Amphitheater 4805 NE Glisan St. Portland (For people affected by colon cancer) A + PROVIDENCE Cancer Center