Barred from marriage in 1982, Bayard Rustin adopted his partner Walter Naegle so their relationship could be legally recognized. The document symbolizes both the injustice they faced and the lengths they had to go to protect their love.
Bayard Rustin’s Privacy Act Request: Confronting Thirty Years of FBI Surveillance
Bayard Rustin formally demanded that the FBI release its extensive files on him under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts, acknowledging decades of government surveillance. The FBI responded with procedural delays, claiming his request was “incomplete” and requiring personal details the Bureau already possessed—revealing its continued resistance to accountability.
