Dr. Peniel Joseph and Robt Seda-Schreiber reflect on how the pandemic-era surge of Black Lives Matter organizing reshaped public life and accelerated a broader democratic reckoning. Joseph links the movement’s insistence on intersectional justice and leaving “nobody behind” to earlier traditions embodied by Bayard Rustin.
Walter Naegle Meets Senator Scott Wiener: Honoring Bayard Rustin's Pardon and Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Personal Toll of Political Erasure: Walter Naegle on the Legacy of Bayard Rustin
In this conversation, Walter Naegle reflects on the personal cost of Bayard Rustin’s 1953 arrest, describing how homophobia within and outside the movement sidelined the architect of nonviolence and left his career “stymied.” Naegle also speaks to the emotional power of witnessing Rustin’s legacy restored through the Presidential Medal of Freedom and posthumous pardon, emphasizing Rustin’s enduring dignity, resilience, and unwavering commitment to justice even when his own movement failed him.
