Bayard Rustin may be one of the most consequential local “adjacent UUs” in history who never made it onto the poster in our lobby of “100 Unitarian Universalists Who Made a Difference.”

On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day last month, we all probably heard excerpts from MLK Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech from the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Who remembers that the chief organizer of that march was a young, black, openly gay man from West Chester, PA?

Bayard Rustin learned nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience from Mahatma Gandhi and others. He was an advocate for civil rights, economic and social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and international peace. He was a co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and played a key role in organizing the Freedom Rides.

Preston Luitweiler will talk about Bayard Rustin, how his life work resonates with the principles of Unitarian Universalism, and how we as UUs can acknowledge the accomplishments of this “adjacent UU” who was from our own backyard.