CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A suburban Philadelphia high school is to be named for an openly gay civil rights activist despite concerns about the radical politics of his youth. The late Bayard Rustin, a 1931 graduate of West Chester [Pa.] High School, began his activism for racial equality while still a youth. Rustin, who was black, recounted those days in a 1981 speech he made at West Chester Henderson High School. "There was not a single restaurant in this town that I could eat in," Rustin said in the speech. "There was not a single theater in this town that I could go to." A videotape of the speech was played at Monday night's school board meeting. The board voted 6-3 to name the new school after Rustin, who is best known for organizing the 1963 rally at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech. Some say Rustin, who was a Quaker, was responsible for persuading King to embrace pacifism. Opponents of naming the school after Rustin acknowledged his work in the civil rights movement but said they were troubled because he was gay, because he went to prison rather than serve in World War II, and because he was briefly a member of a Communist youth group in the 1930s. "If every one of the 16 million men and women of the armed forces refused to serve our country, we would be speaking German and Japanese," area resident Marvin Baughman said at the board meeting. West Chester borough councilman William J. Scott, who attended the meeting and supported naming the school after Rustin, said he was inspired by the video of Rustin's speech. "They showed this tape, and the man really made his own case," Scott said. "He stood up as a great role model.... He helped integrate the restaurants, the theaters, the facilities in the school." Rustin died in 1987.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
04/30/24
April 30 2024 10:45 PM
Sniffies now has filters for age, body type & endowment
April 30 2024 10:20 PM
Biden admin moves to protect LGBTQ+ kids in foster care
April 30 2024 5:55 PM
Pride
Yahoo FeedGifts for your mother and your MOTHER: Celebrating every mom on Mother’s Day
April 30 2024 5:43 PM