Happy MLK Day!

On this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which falls precisely on what would have been his 95th birthday, I want to share a few quotes connected to this great American that I find resonate particularly strongly with the LGBTQ community.

In his 1963 "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," Dr. King famously declared: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial 'outside agitator' idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds."

From The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America, Eric Cervini's biography of Frank Kameny--which we'll begin discussing this Wednesday--comes this quote: In June 1963, "the men's magazine Nugget published an entire profile, "The Gay Crusader," on Randolfe Wicker and his crusade against the 'corporate image' of the homophile movement. 'All embattled minority groups must eventually have a spokesman; the Negroes have Martin Luther King. Now, at long last, the homosexuals have Randolfe Wicker.'"

Finally, as I noted in an October 2023 posting here, we read John D'Emilio's Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin back in 2006. I had not yet seen "Rustin," the biopic starring Colman Domingo in the title role, directed by George Wolfe, but I have since streamed it on Netflix and highly recommend it. Rustin's relationship with Dr. King (portrayed by Aml Ameen) is a highlight, which a Jan. 8 Washington Post op-ed explores in depth.

Rest in power, Martin.