Bayard:
Patron Saint of Intersectionality
Artist: Scott Collins
Bayard Rustin
Born: March 17, 1912
Died: August 24, 1987
Occupation: Activist
Bayard Rustin was an openly gay black man in the 1960s, an era where it often wasn't safe to be either. He organized the 1963 march on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. While Rustin stayed out of the limelight to avoid his sexuality hurting Dr. King's cause, he didn't hide who he was. In an interview, he once said, "It was an absolute necessity for me to declare homosexuality because if I didn't, I was a part of the prejudice."
There wasn't much method to my madness. I'm not a skilled painter, so getting something—anything—down was the goal. I figured while I was pushing myself outside my comfort zone, I'd add the challenge of using fake gold leaf for the first time. One conscious artistic choice I made was choosing purple for the suit and tie. I picked that color to give Rustin an air of royalty.
- Scott Collins
