Bayard Rustin Gets Pardon

After 67 years, Bayard Rustin has been posthumously pardoned by Governor Gavin Newsom. Bayard was a civil rights activist who found himself on the wrong side of the law in 1953.

Being openly gay during those times, he was arrested under the laws set in place to target the LGBTQ community. That was after being caught having sex in public in Pasadena. The arrest got filed as a morals charge, earning him two months in jail. However, because of the incident, Bayard got registered as a sex offender. The Californian Governor also removed this offense from Rustin’s record during the pardon. He claimed it was a way to help ensure the activist’s legacy continues to live on unbesmirched.

While alive, Bayard was a force to be reckoned with for several civil rights movements, but due to his sexuality, he had to operate behind the scenes. His work aimed to help create change for social biases within the community. These included fighting for gay rights, ending racial discrimination in employment, as well as the desegregation of the US armed forces to allow for equal work opportunities for African-Americans. His involvement in these also led to the formation of his friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King. He became King’s adviser, even introducing him to Gandhi’s teachings on nonviolence.