March 17, 1912 - Bayard Rustin "We are all one. And if we don't know it, we will learn it the hard way." Mostly forgotten today, Rustin was the chief organizer for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. He was a superb strategist, and he used … [Read more...]
#OnThisDay: 55 Years Ago, “I Have a Dream”
August 28, 1963 - 250,000+ Americans came to Washington D.C., for The March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom. The protest became the key moment in the struggle for Civil Rights in the USA, culminating in Martin Luther King Jr.'s rousing, iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, an … [Read more...]
#OnThisDay68: 50 Years Ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. is Murdered
On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his I've Been to the Mountaintop speech in Memphis. King's speech focused on the ongoing sanitation workers' strike, and he reaffirmed his commitment to fight injustice with nonviolent protest, despite government … [Read more...]
#QueerQuote; “Only In the Darkness Can You See The Stars.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. organized a demonstration in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Entire families attended. City police turned dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators. MLK was jailed along with large numbers of his supporters, but the event drew … [Read more...]
Martin Luther King’s “Three Evils of Society” Speech Feels Like It Could Be About the World Today
With the world quickly backsliding into chaos, Martin Luther King has never sounded more prophetic. On August 31st, 1967, Reverend Martin Luther King delivered "The Three Evils of Society" speech at the National Conference on New Politics, in which he expounded on the questions … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Songwriter, Billy Strayhorn
November 29, 1915- Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn is a major musical figure for me, & he is a considerable contributor to the world of jazz, as well as an imperative Gay Icon. He is the composer of one of my most admired songs. I have chosen a clip of Lady Gaga's … [Read more...]
Waking The Dead
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a 50-year-old civil rights organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wants to fire the president of its Los Angeles chapter over his support of marriage equality in … [Read more...]
