by Ernie McCray
Just being mentioned with Bayard Rustin
would be enough to fill me with glee.
But receiving the Bayard Rustin
Lifetime Achievement Award
is mind blowing for me.
Makes me feel
like Bojangles
dancing a soft shoe
down a stairway
in a Shirley Temple movie
or on Old Broadway.
Because Bayard was a hero of mine.
Big time.
Dude spent a lifetime
trying to make humankind
more loving and kind
and he went about it
with style and grace,
forever seeking new ways
to embrace
everybody’s hopes and dreams
through peaceful means,
a pacifist
following Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent
approach to achieving equality,
a philosophy
Dr. Martin Luther King
took to our country’s mean streets
as his followers
were greeted by fire hoses
that washed them down the street;
police dogs that tore at their clothes
and their dark-skinned flesh,
spilling their blood in the street;
those there to “protect and serve”
going upside their heads with billy clubs
like in a real life
Whac-A-Mole game
gone shamelessly awry in the street…
But “We Shall Overcome” was the word on the street
and Bayard kept on
organizing
and strategizing
and analyzing,
leading to a day
when we were treated
with a legendary
“I Have a Dream” speech
that’s now ingrained in our history,
and he also with each step of the way
fought proudly and uncloseted
for the dignity, of people like him
who were gay.
And when I think of what he’d have to say
about the ongoing struggle of today,
I can just hear him say: “Love each other, brothers and sisters.
Unify.”
Why?
Because whether we are
African American or Asian American
Latino or Indigenous, gay or straight,
whatever,
we’re in this fight together,
and it will be via our commonalities
that we build the world we want to see.
Oh, and I have to say
that it’s moments like these
that I find myself thinking
of the gay people in my life
during my formative years
who’ve contributed to who I’ve come to be:
Mr. Batiste and Mr. Haynes
who had to live on the “down low”;
Hazel, one of the most incredible
human beings I have ever come to know
whose smile was as bright
as the sun reflecting off mountain snow,
always laying some knowledge on me
she thought I needed to know;
Artie Green who put on
colorful fashion shows
that were the talk of the town in Tucson
so many years ago.
They’ve been on my mind every time
I’ve marched and chanted
Hey, hey! Ho, ho!
Homophobia’s got to go!”
kind of rhymes;
when I’ve stood against
ballot propositions
trying to get rid of LGBTQ educators,
colleagues of mine;
when I’ve defended
boys who came to the prom in a dress;
when the graduates
of the first gay convocation
at my alma mater, the U of A,
listened to my address;
when I’ve supported GLSEN and GSA
or taken on
the Boy Scouts of America of the USA
for their bigotry towards scouts and leaders
who happen to be gay
or taken part in actions
to make sure
LGBTQ students are safe
at school or where they play.
So, to receive any kind of accolades
for my participation
in work I’ve simply
felt needed to be done,
is a gesture
I hold dear
with the deepest appreciation.
I already was,
but this ensures
that I will keep on pushing
towards a more ideal civilization
as there’s still so much to be done,
rights to be won.
But for these brief moments
I’ll just bask in
and thank everyone
for this most treasured recognition.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You must surely know how proud to learn of this honor! You’re on the ladder to highest success–keep climbing, my dearest friend. BE THE BEST!
Ernie, this is an award Well-deserved, I remember in the days when you served as a Principal in the San Diego City School District, how you would stand up in principle for those who were being picked on, discriminated against and even hurt, when few others would stick up for them. Bayard Rustin was a great man who is, largely ignored in many school history books because he was gay. In those early civil rights days he executed organizational feats that went unrecognized because of his gender. However, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King knew of the importance of relying on his organizational expertise and certainly involved him in those big, important events. You have emulated much of his background and style in what you went about doing in your life and you have many friends out there because of it, and we love your rapping style poetry, too, Ernie! Please keep it coming! Your friend John.
Ernie, I want you to know that I’m very proud to know you.
Ernie
I feel honored and often humbled to be one of your many life-friends. Keep on keepin’ on, soul-mate! Love you.
Stan
Beautifully written. Congratulations on the well-deserved honor.
FELICITACIONES HERMANO! VIVA!
Ernie,
Congratulations on this well-deserved award and also for a beautiful reflection on the profound work and life of Bayard Rustin, a man ahead of his time who still speaks so clearly to our own times.
Paul
Hi Paul-It’s good to hear of your compliment to Ernie for his well-deserved award, and also to hear from someone else who respects “…the profound work and life of Bayard Rustin…” He indeed was ahead of his time. Are you also axquainted with the life and work of Pauli Murray, who also accomplished a lot and was ahead of her time, as well. John.