The inaugural Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honors will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 2 at The San Diego LGBT Community Center. The awards will be presented by the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) of Washington, D.C., the International Court Council and the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912-Aug. 24, 1987) is widely considered the father of the 1963 National Civil Rights March on Washington. An openly gay, black civil rights leader, Rustin was a senior advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King. Sen. Strom Thurmond railed against Rustin on the floor of the Senate, referring to him as a “Communist draft-dodger and homosexual.”
Recipients of the inaugural Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honors include:
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Mandy Carter, national civil rights activist
• San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, 1960 Freedom Rider
• Ashley Walker, Martin Luther King All People’s Breakfast
Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Award
• Jimmy Lovett Jr., Malcolm X Library
• Carole Norman, NP, San Diego Black Nurses Association
• Christopher Grinston, Imperial Court de San Diego
• Vertez Burks, San Diego community activist
• City Commissioner Stampp Corbin, chair of the Equal Opportunity Commission
• Tracie Jada O’Brien, Stepping Stone
City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez and Carolina Alcoser Ramos of The San Diego LGBT Community Center will direct and host the event.
“We are proud to join the National Black Justice Coalition in this long overdue recognition of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin,” said Ramirez.
The entire community is invited to the July 2 event, which will include a short clip of the award winning film Brother Outsider, outstanding entertainment, amazing soul food and a silent auction. A $10 donation to benefit the Bayard Rustin Commemoration Project of the NBJC is requested.
The Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honors are being underwritten by the Human Dignity Foundation of San Diego, the International Court and the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
For further information call City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez at 619-692-1967.
