Our work
comes to life
in community.
From national convenings to youth-led programs and leadership gatherings, Rustin Institute events create space for learning, connection, and collective action. Explore what’s coming up—and revisit where we’ve been.
2026 at a glance
January
25th annual Rustin/Lorde
Community BreakfasT
The Breakfast is grounded in Black LGBT organizing, yet it convenes a multiracial, intergenerational platform for mutual support and mobilization. As an annual event the Breakfast educates participants and connects them to individuals, organizations and coalitions working toward social change.
you(th) belong and netherlands consulate presents: Black history love letters
Black History Love Letters 2.0 returns this Valentine’s Day as a vibrant, heart-forward gathering rooted in memory, art, and collective gratitude. In the spirit of Black History Month, leaders, artists, poets, musicians, and community creatives come together to offer original love letters—through words, song, and performance—to the Black elders, ancestors, and cultural visionaries who have shaped their lives and imaginations.
February
March
Bayard Rustin Day & Rustin Institute for Leadership Development Announced
Organize The Future: Rooted. Rising. Ready., honors the life, legacy, and enduring relevance of Bayard Rustin through an evening of reflection, dialogue, and artistic expression rooted in justice and human dignity. Building on the spirit and success of our inaugural celebration, this year’s program brings together historians, advocates, and creatives whose work embodies Rustin’s vision of courageous, nonviolent leadership and community care as activism.
Special guests will include Evan Malbrough, Walter Naegle—returning from our 2024 program—and two dynamic intergenerational panel discussions. Together, we invite the community to remember Rustin not only as a historic figure, but as a living call to action—one that challenges us to lead with integrity, imagination, and love.
Healthy Futures: Youth Voices, Arts &
Health Advocacy, and the Work Ahead
Join the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Performance Hypothesis, LLC for an inspiring conversation exploring how the arts can serve as a bridge between health, healing, and human rights across generations and across borders.
Bringing together international leaders, researchers, clinicians, artists, and young advocates, this dialogue will examine how creativity and cultural expression can advance wellbeing, strengthen communities, and confront inequities.