Assistant Professor of Politics, Carlo Figueroa gave a talk entitled "Bayard Rustin: Black Gay Quaker Thinker and Civil Rights Activist," at Illinois State University on February 15, 2016. The talk was part of Illinois State's President's Speaker Series.
The talk was given in celebration of Black History Month. Assistant Professor Figueroa explored politics at the confluence of race, religion, sexuality, and policy development.
It was held in conjunction with The Legacy Wall exhibit at Milner Library. The traveling exhibit features "mini-biographies" of lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGBT), and transgender people, and aims to raise awareness of the roles LGBT people have played in shared human history.
The author of the upcoming Quakers, Race and Empire: Political Ecumenism and U.S. Insular Policy Rhetoric, 1898–1917, Figueroa explored Bayard Rustin’s Quaker sensibilities, and how his reliance on Quaker principles–peace, equality, integrity, simplicity, community, and truth – informed his nonviolent protest, and later the coalition building during the black freedom and equality struggles of the 1950s-1960s.
“The way in which Rustin planned, organized, and facilitated important events through his Quakerism provides us with an opportunity to reconsider models for dealing with racial, social, and economic injustices across U.S. cities, including some college campuses today,” said Figueroa.
The President's Speaker Series seeks to bring innovative and enlightening speakers to the campus with the aim of providing the community with a platform to foster dialogue, cultivate enriching ideas, and continue an appreciation of learning as an active and lifelong process.
The talk was sponsored by Illinois State’s Department of History and the Office of the President. The exhibit is sponsored by the Office of the President and Milner Library.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20160218113405165