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 commemorates Rustin's life, values, and legacy.

Born in Morristown New Jersey, Naegle was raised in Succasunna, NJ, in a Roman Catholic home with six siblings. During high school in the 1960s, he became interested in the African-American struggle for civil rights and social justice, particularly with its commitment to nonviolence as the means to bring about democratic change. After attending the University of Bridgeport (CT) for one year, he left to join VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America), and worked for a year in the Hilliard Houses Senior Center (Chicago,IL) an agency of Hull House Association. As his interest in nonviolence and pacifism grew, he decided to confront the selective service system, writing a letter to his draft board stating that he could not cooperate with the Selective Service and would refuse induction were he called. He was immediately summoned to report for induction, did not appear, but was never indicted because the local draft board had acted improperly in his case. He moved to New York City in January 1970 and found a studio apartment in Spanish Harlem. He worked as a psychiatric technician at the New York State Psychiatric Institute until September 1972, both in the children's ward and on a unit researching bi-polar disorder. During this time he also attended night school at the Germain School of Photography in lower Manhattan and began taking photographs with a medium format camera (Rolleiflex, Bronica, Yashica). [3]

He met Bayard Rustin 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]

After a few months, the two became steady partners. Naegle returned to school in the fall of 1977, studying at Fordham University where he was hired to work in the Development Office and in the Graduate School of Education. He was graduated summa cum laude in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in Studio Art. He moved in with Rustin who resided in the Mutual Redevelopment Houses (Penn South). In 2016 Rustin's residence was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. 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.[3] He and Sally Ride's partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, were the first LGBT partners to accept the award for their late partners.

References

  1. 1 2 "Walter Naegle, surviving partner of Bayard Rustin, shares memories of the 1963 march organizer". theGrio. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  2. ↑ "Form 990-PF Bayard Rustin Fund Inc." (PDF). Retrieved 2016-02-09.
  3. 1 2 "Bayard Rustin: The Man Homophobia Almost Erased From History". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  4. 1 2 Sunday, Weekend Edition. "Long Before Same-Sex Marriage, 'Adopted Son' Could Mean 'Life Partner'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.