This is a story from a middle chapter in Bayard Rustin's career, the story of the War Resisters League's decision to hire Bayard. Hiring him was a decision that WRL’s leadership wrestled over and ultimately decided to do. Even a cursory look at it reveals a lot about American social norms (then and now) and, likewise, about how power, oppression, and homophobia function even in professed radical organizations like WRL.
In founding and then leading WRL for nearly 20 years, Jessie Wallace Hughan was supported by an impressive group of women, many having previously headed other women’s pacifist, suffragist, anti-conscription, and socialist organizations. Unusually independent for their time, most had graduated from prestigious universities, supported themselves with careers, and were engaged in romantic relationships with like-minded women.
