We were so proud to recently learn that we were awarded first place in the Excellence in Radio category from the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association for the Black History Month special we did about Bayard Rustin, titled Bayard Rustin – Who Is This Man? It is a true honor to have had the chance to work with so many people that worked with Bayard and that have written about him and even taught his doctrine of non-violent resistance that forever changed Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to the Civil Rights struggle. Bayard spoke his mind and stuck to his convictions no matter what the consequences were. He was also openly gay in a time where that was met with an excruciating amount of disdain. Black, gay, Quaker . . . a number of seemingly incompatible labels that served to earn him as many detractors as admirers.

Listen to the radio episode and be sure to check out our other collateral for the episode including a video podcast from SOTRU host, Al Letson, a slideshow that features incredible Rustin pictures and an audio podcast about the music of Bayard Rustin. We are certain that this is the type of episode you will want to share with your friends whether it’s Black History Month or not. SOTRU would love to hear from you with your thoughts about the Rustin episode and the award from the NLGJA.

There is more to the history of Birmingham, Alabama, than the civil rights struggle. Birmingham was a major iron ore and steel manufacturing capital, and now the Red Mountain iron ore mine is being turned into a park for people to explore the history of mining and the subtleties of race relations. Al Letson, host of NPR and PRX’s State of the Re: Union, reports on the story of Red Mountain.

Be sure to visit our Birmingham page where you can listen to the radio episode, read letters to the city, check out the photos we took during our trip and much more.

State of the Re:Union is excited to announce that our Black History Month special, “Bayard Rustin – Who Is This Man?” will be airing on public radio stations across the country during January, February and March.

August 28^th, 1963 will forever be tied to Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech.” This historic moment would probably have never come to fruition if it weren’t for a man standing in King’s shadow, Mr. Bayard Rustin. (more…)

State of the Re:Union’s submission for the NLGJA Awards.

Click on “The Entire Radio Episode” to stream the show.

Bayard Rustin submission for NLGJA Awards

Hi there, I’m Tina Antolini, the newest member of the SOTRU gang. I started as a producer for the show a couple of weeks ago, and am just getting around to a formal blog-oriented introduction. (more…)