October is LGBTQ+ History Month, a month-long celebration that observes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer history. In honor of this month, we are shining a light on the Black LGBTQ+ people who have made boundless contributions in several arenas. Here are 4 LGBTQ+ Trailblazers Who Went to HBCUs and 4 Who Didn’t!
1Bayard Rustin – Wilberforce University & Cheney University
Bayard Rustin was a human rights activist known for his work during the Civil Rights Movement. He was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s closest advisors and a key organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. In the 1980s, Rustin became a part of the LGBTQ+ movement and an advocate for AIDS education, playing a pivotal role in bringing it to the attention of the NAACP. In 2013, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newson pardoned Rustin for his 1953 arrest when he was arrested for a “moral cause” which led to his outing to the public. Although criticism and discrimination over his sexual orientation resulted in Rustin taking a less public role in the Civil Rights Movement, he was still a hugely influential figure during the movement.
