Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 - August 24, 1987)
Bayard Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and was mostly brought up by his grandparents. He grew up strongly believing that everyone in a family unit was equal and unafraid to fight for his rights, holding his first boycott as a teenager upset over his football team's discrimination. Rustin once famously told his grandmother that he preferred men's company over women and later went on to be openly homosexual. He became a prominent human rights activist, once saying "I want no human to die." King worked closely alongside him to organize the March on Washington, despite the first one indirectly being canceled due to his sexuality. Many believe his erasure from history is due to his homosexuality, especially the one time he was arrested for it. Still, he was remained honest about himself, going as far as adopting Walter Neagle, to legalize his relationship with the white man whom he had fallen in love with. The end of his life was filled with political strife before he settled down in Manhattan, New York.
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