Fifty years ago today, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom descended upon the Capitol Mall. It took the attention of the United States and, a half century later, still ignites its imagination.

The chief organizer of that event was Bayard Rustin, an out gay man. I had the deep privilege to interview Mr. Rustin’s partner, Walter Naegle, for a long profile I wrote as my first piece for BuzzFeed.