SAN DIEGO — In recognition of Black History Month, the San Diego LGBT Community Center will host the third presentation of the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honors Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. This event honoring local LGBT African-Americans and allies was founded by City Commissioner Nicole Murray Ramirez, national chair of the Bayard Rustin U.S. Postage Stamp Campaign.
“Every American civil rights movement has come from the Black civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s, including the LGBT civil rights movement,” stated Murray Ramirez. The entire community is invited to join us at the Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Honors as we celebrate Black History Month and this year’s distinguished honorees.”
A top aide and mentor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the deputy director and architect of the historic 1963 March on Washington, Bayard Rustin was an openly gay man during the 1950s and 1960s, a time when it put him at great risk. In 2013, Rustin was posthumously awarded the American Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama for his decades of activism in the fight for civil rights, dignity and equality for all.
The 2016 Bayard Rustin Civil Rights honorees include:
Hon. Tony Young, former San Diego City councilmember and past director of the American Red Cross of San Diego.
Vernita Gutierrez, director of community engagement for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, treasurer of the Faith Based Action Coalition and board member of the San Diego LGBT Community Center.
Camille Emily Davidson, veteran of the U.S. Air Force, member of the Diversionary Theatre board of trustees and former member of LAGADU (Lesbians and Gays of African Descent United).
Dwayne Crenshaw, CEO of Rise San Diego and former executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride and the Coalition of Neighborhoods Council.
Dion Brown, San Diego city commissioner, vice-chair of the Social Services Advisory Board and member of the LGBT Advisory Board to the Chief of Police.
The Feb. 19 event will benefit the San Diego Black LGBT Coalition, the Bayard Rustin National Stamp Campaign and the San Diego LGBT Community Center. A $15 donation is requested at the door. The event is sponsored by the San Diego LGBT Community Center, the Imperial Court de San Diego and the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation. For additional information, call 619-692-2077 or 619-692-1967.
