On the day in 2017 that Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States the “Make Room for the Real America,” crowd took control of the country from those of us who believed in the “Ideal America.” With the recent rise of white nationalism and the killings that are part of that movement, you often hear commentators make the statement, “we are not like that,” or “that is not us.”  But the truth about this country is not the idealistic picture painted most of the time, but in reality, the hateful, greedy, murderous America of Donald Trump and his ilk. Blacks, Indians, Chinese, Japanese and now Mexican Americans, Gays and Lesbians have been the target of white racism that has dominated this country’s history since its inception. A trip back in history will confirm my assertion about this country.

The late Dr. John Hope Franklin told us that if we want to solve a problem discover the source first, and the source for America’s problem would take us back to the Founding Fathers and the early settlers. The foundation for the creation of this country was the Declaration of Independence written by a man who was unable to abide by the dictates of that document. Once the revolution ended, George Washington, James Madison and thirty seven other men wrote a constitution that was inconsistent with the ideals found in the Declaration. For example, how could they deny an entire race of people their freedom but argue in the Declaration that “All men are created equal.”  Furthermore, how could they create a new country and lay claim to land already occupied by natives of the country. They did exactly what that crowd of “Make Room for the Real America” would do and that was to kill off the original inhabitants of the land or put them in what was nothing more than concentration camps called reservations. “Make Room for the Real America” superseded that “Ideal America.”

For a short period of time after the Civil War, approximately 10 years, the “Ideal America” finally surfaced with the passage of the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th Amendment and it appeared that the dictates of the Declaration of Independence would become a reality. But the “Make Room for the Real America” crowd was not about to succumb to the notion that other minorities were just as equal as them. Once Rutherford B, Hayes and a congress, tired of the “Negro Issue,” pulled the troops out of the South and returned rule to the slavocracy class and” Make Room for the Real America” was back in charge. What followed was segregation, lynching, rape and the terroristic treatment of a race of people. According to the Alabama -based Equal Justice Initiative, nearly 4,000 Black men and women were killed by lynching in a dozen Southern cities between 1877 and 1950.

In the later years of the 19^th Century, the Chinese working on the transcontinental railroads and in the mines was exposed to the same racial hatred as the other minority groups. Labeled as the “yellow peril,” the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, prohibiting the immigration of Chinese to this country. The Japanese suffered from the wrath of the “Make Room for the Real America,” when their land was taken and they were locked up in concentration camps during World War II, an act that had the approval of  President Franklin Roosevelt as well as the United States Supreme Court. “To hell” with the Declaration of Independence, the “Make Room for the Real America,” was calling the shots.

For another short period of time during the 1960’s the “Ideal America” was able to grab control of the country. The Civil Rights Movement had a deep impact on the country and even the President, born in the South, joined the cause and the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act two years later. But that “Ideal America” soon dissipated with the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, the four little girls killed in the bombing of the 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama,  the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and  Robert Kennedy. With the election of Richard M. Nixon, the “Make Room for the Real America” was back in charge.

There were periodic times when the “Ideal America” surfaced and it looked as though the country would finally live up to the dictates of the Declaration of Independence and especially with the election of the country’s first Black president in 2009. However, it was during the eight years of President Barack Obama’s tenure that the “Make Room for the Real America” re-grouped and their leader surfaced. Donald Trump gave them hope when he began his attacks on President Obama and kept them going for eight years.

Now, after two and a half years of Trump’s racist leadership in the White House, the “Make Room for the Real America,” has grown and is openly attacking what appears to be the new target of their sick cause to “Make America Great Again.” The brains behind this insurgent dangerous movement is the far-right wing Stephen Miller. He has led the attack against immigrants seeking asylum in this country. Undoubtedly, he is briefing Trump and giving him the ammunition to carry out this vicious attack on men, women, and children coming to our borders in hopes of a better life. This attack on Mexican American citizens, and our neighbors from the south is consistent with this country’s history. The “Make Room for the Real America,” consists of killers and it has been that way since the beginnings of this country. So, liberals and those who believe in the “Ideal America” need to stop reacting to these slaughters as if this is not what this country is all about. They need to stop this “we are not like that,” because this country “is like that,” and has been that way for a very long time.

Because I had the opportunity to live through two of the periods that the “Ideal America” was in control, that is the 1960’s and of course the period that President Obama was in office, I believe there is still hope that we can survive the ugliness we now confront. Those of us who believe in a better country than what we have must take the necessary action to bring about change. The coalition of groups that came together to put President Obama in office must do it again. However, the next time, that group must become a permanent America and maybe then we can say that “we are not like that,” and it will be a reality of who we really are.

In June 2016, Sterling Zinsmeyer a Gay Activist from New York and now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, approached me about writing a novel on the life of one of the great thinkers of the Civil Rights Era, Bayard Rustin. Sterling has an excellent history of involvement in the Gay community. He established the first full-service HIV/AIDS treatment programs throughout the Bronx and Harlem. He also has a long history of LGBTQ political activism, serving two terms as President of the New York City Stonewall Democrats. Early in his career, he was involved in theatrical and television productions. He was the Executive Producer of the award-winning film, Latter Day and the acclaimed chamber opera, Fellow Travelers, which is presently touring the United States.

Joining our team to write this novel was a former Texas State Legislator, Lane Denton. He served in the State Legislature from 1971 to 1977 and was one of the members labeled “Dirty Thirty,” which was a label of honor. They were able to expose the corruption in the state legislature that led to a great deal of change in the operation of that body. He wrote the landmark Texas Open Records Law. He also served on the Ted Kennedy for President Staff in 1980. In 1975, he was selected as one of the Top 100 Leaders in the State of Texas. He was the Director of the Southwest Region in the President Jimmy Carter Administration. Lane is presently writing his memoirs to be released in 2020.

These two men joined me in writing this novel and it is a tribute to how two cultures, the Gay and African American culture can work together to effectuate change. It took three years of extensive research writing to complete this work. Following is the reason why all readers should want to reader this novel.

Bayard and Martin: A Historical Novel About Friendship and the Civil Rights Movement, finally sets the record straight about the important role a Gay Activist, Bayard Rustin, played in the success of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950’s and 1960’s. This historical novel about one of the most critical periods in this nation’s history, provides the country with an outstanding rendition of the relationship between Rustin and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The novel takes the reader on a journey that begins in January 1956, when Rustin goes to Montgomery, Alabama, to instruct Dr. King on how best to utilize the concept of non-violence, as an effective way to fight the evils of segregation. The relationship between the two men grows, as Dr. King depends of Rustin to conceptualize an organization to continue his work to desegregate other areas of the South. Rustin draws up the blueprint for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). However, Rustin was disappointed when Dr. King suggests he become the first Executive Director of SCLC and the other ministers opposed him because he was a homosexual. Rustin was also disappointed when Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. threatened to accuse King of having an affair with Rustin, if King did not call off the boycott of the 1960 Democratic Convention.

For two years, King severed all contact with Rustin because of that threat, but by the end of 1962, they were back working together in organizing the proposed march on Washington, D.C., set for August 1963. It is apparent that King recognized his error ending their working relationship based on a bogus threat from Powell.  Rustin then organized and coordinated the most famous march in the country’s history, the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom. Without Rustin’s organizational skills, there never would have been Dr. King’s, “I have a dream” speech delivered that day at the Lincoln Memorial.

In this very important work, we three authors, collaborating on different segments of the story, point out that human rights are values that all people are guaranteed in this country, if we can only get beyond the petty prejudices that still exist. This is extremely important given what is happening today in the Nation Capitol. In this novel we also answer the question would Dr. King have considered the Gay Movement a civil rights issue? That answer in the pages of this novel is a resounding “YES.”

For the history buffs and all others who want to spend time reading a novel that educates, entertains and empowers, Bayard and Martin: A Historical Novel About Friendship and the Civil Rights Movement, is a must read.

 

 

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