If you teach your children one new name from the heroes of black history, please let it be Bayard Rustin. -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr.For decades, this great leader, often at Dr. King's side, was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay ... we honor Bayard Rustin's memory by taking our place in his march towards true equality, no matter who we are or who we love. -- Barack ObamaThe unknown hero of the civil rights movement. ? Time Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was a key figure in the civil rights movement, and its only openly gay leader. Born in Pennsylvania to an unmarried mother, he was raised by his Quaker grandparents. After beginning his political career as a communist and conscientious objector, Rustin participated in the first Freedom Rides, and spent time on a chain gang and in prison for his beliefs. Through his work as a political adviser to Martin Luther King in the 1950s he defined the era's protest agenda, and introduced nonviolent direct action as one of its founding principles. He helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference - only to later be forced to resign because of rumours around his relationship with Martin Luther King. Undeterred, Rustin organised the 1963 March on Washington, a turning point in the history of American protest. In later life he focused on global humanitarian work, from free elections to aid for refugees.