“My activism did not spring from my being gay, or, for that matter, from my being black. Rather, it is rooted fundamentally in my Quaker upbringing and the values that were instilled in me by my grandparents who reared me.” – Bayard Rustin
We are currently accepting applications for the 2024-2025 Bayard Rustin Residency. Deadline for submission is April 1st, 2024. Link to Application.
Building on the social activist history of Penington’s founders, original board, and later residents, the Bayard Rustin Residency at Penington Friends House (PFH) is envisioned as an ongoing ladder to empowerment for Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) working to end Systemic Racism and to create a culture of anti-Racism and intersectional equality in the United States of America. It is also intended to extend and strengthen the wider Quaker witness to equality.
Beginning in September of 2024, this residency will provide up to one year of room and board to a person who demonstrates a strong project that addresses ending Systemic Racism and who has a necessity to be in New York City for up to one year. They will reside at the Penington Friends House located in New York City’s Lower East Side of Manhattan. The Bayard Rustin Resident will demonstrate a need to live in Manhattan. Areas of focus of their work can include activism in the arts, policy change, human rights, community organizing, and other areas of activism focusing on ending racism and strengthening equality. Residents will meet regularly with the Residency Manager and will be expected to share their progress with the New York City community in the form of presentations or workshops.
The resident does not have to be Quaker but their work should be shaped by and in harmony with our tenants of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship. The resident will be expected to be a full-time resident of PFH and be participating member of this intentional community. This includes eating chef prepared dinners with the other residents and participating in shared light house chores. ( 1 1/2 hour commitment per week on average.) The Penington Friends House’s approach to living collaboratively may be new to you. We encourage to look at our website and instagram account (@Penington_friends_house) to gain a better understanding of what we are. Feel free to call us as well with questions. We are LGBTQ embracing community. We believe Black Lives Matter. We are always working to be a safe space and an anti-racist community.
Resident selection is made through a BIPOC committee of Quakers and non-Quakers and is based on the strength of the applicants work and proposed project. Final approval of the Bayard Rustin resident is made by the Penington Friends House Residents and staff, in the same interview process that all other residents are approved to live at the Penington. Applicants should note that the Bayard Rustin Resident bedroom is on the 4th floor of an historic Brownstone. An elevator is not available. Bathrooms are shared with other floor residents. This residency covers the cost of rent, boarding (food) provided 5 nights a week, internet, cable, and heat/AC. A stipend and studio space is NOT currently provided.
Here are a few types of artists and activists activities that we would be interested in considering. Please contact us before applying if you are not sure your project would fit our call.
– An artist working on a body of art that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.
– A writer working on a new book, play, screenplay, or collection that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.
– A performer creating a new dance piece that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.
– A community based artist designing or carrying out a community based project that addresses racism and/or intersectional issues.
– An activist organizing communities to address racism and/or intersectional issues.
– A social entrepreneur that is starting a non-profit focused on addressing racism and/or intersectional issues.
– An inventor or designer working on solving a problem associated with systemic racism and/or intersectional issues.
– A graduate student that has a strong and well defined anti-racism project that needs support and time to launch.
Background
The residency is named after Bayard Rustin who was a Quaker and an attender at 15th Street Monthly Meeting in New York City. This meeting (Quaker house of worship) is next to the Penington Friends House. Rustin worked commitedly for the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. He was an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolence. Rustin was also a chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and a founding member of the Freedom Riders. He was an early advocate for gay rights. Rustin’s later work included a heavy focus on refugee affairs. Rustin served as Vice Chairman of the International Rescue Committee, helped to found the National Emergency Coalition for Haitian Refugees, and was Chairman of the Executive Committee of Freedom House. He died in 1987. In 2013, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom. ( Source rustinfund.org)
We are currently accepting applications for the 2024-2025 Bayard Rustin Residency. Deadline for submission is April 1st, 2024. Link to Application.
The Bayard Rustin Residency is supported with funds from the Society of Friends (Quakers) New York Yearly Meeting, the New York Quarterly Meeting, the Brooklyn Monthly Meeting, the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, and the Board of Penington Friends House. Donations are currently being accepted.
We have worked with Walter Naegle, partner of Bayard Rustin, on designing this residency. Here is a great short video that shares he and Bayard’s journey together.
This short video outlines many of the important civil rights work and significant moments of struggle for Bayard Rustin during that time.