Bayard Rustin finally to be honored by the White House

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With the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington fast approaching, the Barack Obama administration found it high time to honor the behind-the-scenes organizer of the march and of the Civil Rights Movement.

The White House has announced that it will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Besides Rustin, Obama will honor 15 others, including Oprah Winfrey, baseball great Ernie Banks and former President Bill Clinton.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States. Obama will present the awards during a ceremony at the White House later this year.

“The Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to men and women who have dedicated their own lives to enriching ours,” said Obama in a statement. “This year’s honorees have been blessed with extraordinary talent, but what sets them apart is their gift for sharing that talent with the world. It will be my honor to present them with a token of our nation’s gratitude.”

As a key adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., Rustin introduced the civil rights icon to Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings on nonviolence. Rustin also assisted in starting the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King in 1957. Rustin was also the chief organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

While not as well known as other civil rights leaders, Rustin remained an important figure until his death 25 years ago. Part of his intention to stay behind the scenes stemmed from his homosexuality and partly due to his flirtation with communism in his early 1920s.

Rustin didn’t stop at civil rights for people of color. Throughout his life, Rustin was a staunch advocate for gay rights and testified in support of anti-discrimination legislation in the state of New York.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released a statement honoring Rustin’s legacy.

“Bayard Rustin’s contributions to the American Civil Rights Movement remains paramount to its successes to this day,” said Griffin. “His role in the fight for the civil rights of African-Americans is all the more admirable because he made it as a gay man, experiencing prejudice not just because of his race, but because of his sexual orientation as well.”