Walter Naegle
Walter Naegle (born 1949)[1] was the partner of the American Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin and is executive director of the Bayard Rustin Fund,[2] which educates others on Rustin's life, values, and legacy.
Born in Morristown New Jersey, Naegle was raised in a Roman Catholic home with six siblings. During high school in the 1960s, the African-American civil rights movement informed his interest in the philosophy of nonviolence. He left college after one year to join VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), and worked for a year in a Chicago senior center managed by Hull House.[3]
Rustin and Naegle met in April 1977.[1]
The day that I met Bayard I was actually on my way to Times Square. We were on the same corner waiting for the light to change. He had a wonderful shock of white hair. I guess he was of my parents' generation, but we looked at each other and lightning struck.[4]
Because same-sex marriage was illegal at the time, Rustin legally adopted Naegle in 1982. The two were together for 10 years, until Rustin's death in 1987.[4]
On November 20, 2013, Naegle accepted the Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in honor of Rustin's work of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[5] He and Sally Ride's partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, were the first LGBT partners to accept the award for their late partners.
References
- 1 2 "Walter Naegle, surviving partner of Bayard Rustin, shares memories of the 1963 march organizer". theGrio. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
- ↑ "Form 990-PF Bayard Rustin Fund Inc." (PDF). Retrieved 2016-02-09.
- ↑ "Bayard Rustin: The Man Homophobia Almost Erased From History". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
- 1 2 Sunday, Weekend Edition. "Long Before Same-Sex Marriage, 'Adopted Son' Could Mean 'Life Partner'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
- ↑ "Bayard Rustin: The Man Homophobia Almost Erased From History". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2015-11-16.