Mashup has founded the Bayard Rustin Institute in honor of the censored queer leaders like Bayard Rustin. Our goal is uplift the legacy of past queer leaders and develop the next generation brown queer folks to live boldly and take on the mantle of leadership to progress our society forward. 

In collaboration with the Vanderbilt HIV Vaccine Program, Mashup seek to inspire and develop the future of Black Queer leaders. To accomplish this task, the program will be segmented to offer workshops and connect the next generation with current leaders in the community. In each part of the program we will provide resources to help our aspiring leaders find their way while also paying homage to those that made it possible, like Rustin. 

Who is Bayard Rustin?

Born March 17, 1912, was an African American leader and civil rights activist. Although he was a key player in American Civil Rights Movement, serving as an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr, organizing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and planning the infamous 1961 Freedom Ride and two March on Washington demonstrations (1941 and 1968), Bayard Rustin's contributions are largely unrecognized. Because he lived his life as an openly gay man in a time where sodomy was still a crime and black people were lynched for looking too hard at white people, Bayard Rustin was relegated to the background of the movement instead of openly celebrated for his leadership.