John D’Emilio Reading
John D’Emilio reads from his nonfiction book, Lost Prophets: the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin. D’Emilio discusses Rustin’s life as an African American homosexual civil rights leader in the early to mid-20th century. Rustin, a self-proclaimed “agitator for justice,” was a famous nonviolent protest leader who corresponded with famous leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael. D’Emilio points out that not only is Lost Prophets about Rustin’s work with civil rights issues, but is also about how he learned to deal with the homophobia that constantly threatened his career. D’Emilio relays various instances where Rustin was framed and blackmailed because of his sexual orientation.
Host Julie Englander plays a few soundclips of Bayard Rustin’s various speeches where he outlines his belief that black and white people had to band together in order to successfully fight racial injustice. As D’Emilio explains, Rustin believed that “an all black politics...was always going to remain a politics of the minority that would be overwhelmed by white resentment.”
In: "Live from Prairie Lights" Audio Archive | Nonfiction
Authors: John D’Emilio
Date Recorded: February 20, 2004
Works Read: Lost Prophets: the Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, by John D'Emilio
Program: Live From Prairie Lights
Format: reading
Contributors: Introduction by host Julie Englander.
Topics: Bayard Rustin, civil rights movement, nonviolence movement, homosexuality