Malcolm Boyd facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Malcolm Boyd
Boyd in 1966
Born	June 8, 1923 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died	February 27, 2015 (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Priest
Spouse(s)	Mark Thompson

Malcolm Boyd (June 8, 1923 – February 27, 2015) was an American Episcopal priest and author. He was very active in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. He was one of the Freedom Riders in 1961. Boyd also spoke out against the Vietnam War. In 1977, Malcolm Boyd openly shared that he was gay. He then became an important voice for the rights of gay people.

In 1965, Boyd published a book of prayers called Are You Running with Me, Jesus?. This book became a bestseller. A special 40th-anniversary edition was released in 2005. In 2013, he worked as a poet and writer at St. Paul Cathedral in Los Angeles.

Early Life and Hollywood Years

Malcolm Boyd was born in 1923 in Buffalo, New York. His mother, Beatrice Lowrie, was a fashion model. His father, Melville Boyd, was a banker. Malcolm was raised in the Episcopal Church. His grandfather was also an Episcopal priest.

In the early 1930s, Boyd's parents divorced. He moved with his mother to Colorado. Later, he moved to Hollywood in the 1940s. He started working at a big agency. Soon, he became a junior producer in Hollywood. He even started his own production company with Mary Pickford. Even with all the glamour, he looked for deeper meaning. He started exploring churches.

Becoming a Priest

In 1951, Boyd began studying to become a priest. He attended the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. He finished his studies in 1954 and became a deacon. In 1955, he studied in England and Switzerland. He then returned to Los Angeles to become a priest.

From 1956 to 1957, Boyd studied more in New York. He also wrote his first book, Crisis in Communication. In 1959, he became an Episcopal Chaplain at Colorado State University. In the 1960s, Boyd became known as "the Espresso Priest." He would read his religious poems at a nightclub in San Francisco. A newspaper once called him "Marlon Brando in a collar." This was because of his Hollywood past and good looks.

Important Activism

Boyd became a minister in the Civil Rights Movement. He worked to promote equal rights and voting rights for all. In 1961, he joined the Freedom Riders. They rode buses together to challenge unfair laws. Later that year, he became the Episcopal Chaplain at Wayne State University in Detroit.

He held weekly meetings about civil rights. He influenced a woman named Viola Liuzzo. Three years later, she went to Selma, Alabama. She joined marches for voting rights. She was sadly killed while helping marchers after a successful march.

In 1963, Boyd attended a conference about racial equality. Malcolm X mentioned Boyd in a speech. Malcolm X said Boyd believed that a debate between a white supremacist and a Black Muslim leader would be helpful. Boyd felt it would bring "real issues out into the open." He thought the conference had not done enough to solve race problems.

Boyd also actively protested the Vietnam War. He led demonstrations and special teaching sessions. In 1970, Boyd and 16 other protesters were arrested. They tried to hold a "mass for peace" at The Pentagon.

Later Life and Works

In 1977, Boyd openly shared that he was gay. He became one of the first well-known American religious leaders to do so. In the 1980s, Boyd met Mark Thompson. Thompson was an author and activist. Boyd and Thompson were partners for almost 30 years. They married in 2013. Boyd felt his partnership and marriage to Thompson were very important parts of his life. They lived in Los Angeles, California.

Boyd wrote over 30 books. His most famous was Are You Running with Me, Jesus? (1965). This book was a huge success. It brought him public attention throughout his life. He also wrote a column for The Huffington Post. He worked as a poet and writer for the Diocese of Los Angeles. Malcolm Boyd passed away on February 27, 2015, at age 91. He died from problems related to pneumonia.

Books by Malcolm Boyd

• Crisis in Communication (Doubleday, 1957)
• Christ and Celebrity Gods (Seabury, 1958)
• Focus: Rethinking the Meaning of Our Evangelism (Morehouse-Barlow, 1960)
• If I Go Down to Hell (Morehouse-Barlow, 1962)
• The Hunger, the Thirst (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
• Are You Running with Me, Jesus? (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1965/40th anniversary edition, 2005), became a bestseller
• Free to Live, Free to Die (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1967)
• Malcolm Boyd's Book of Days (Random House, 1968)
• The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Stone and Other Fables (Harper & Row, 1969)
• As I Live and Breathe (Random House, 1969)
• My Fellow Americans (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970)
• Human Like Me, Jesus (Simon and Schuster, 1971)
• The Lover (Word Books, 1972)
• The Runner (Word Books, 1974)
• The Alleluia Affair (Word Books, 1975)
• Christian: Its Meanings in an Age of Future Shock (Hawthorn, 1975)
• Am I Running with You, God? (Doubleday, 1977)
• Take Off the Masks (Doubleday, 1978; rev. ed. HarperCollins 1993, White Crane Books 2008)
• Look Back in Joy (Gay Sunshine Press, 1981; rev. ed. Alyson, 1990)
• Half Laughing, Half Crying (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
• Gay Priest: An Inner Journey (St. Martin's Press, 1986)
• Edges, Boundaries and Connections (Broken Moon Press, 1992)
• Rich with Years: Daily Meditations on Growing Older (HarperCollins, 1994)
• Go Gentle Into That Good Night (Genesis Press, 1998)
• Simple Grace: A Mentor's Guide to Growing Older (Westminster John Knox, 2001)
• Prayers for the Later Years (Augsburg, 2002)
• A Prophet in His Own Land: The Malcolm Boyd Reader (edited by Bo Young/Dan Vera) (White Crane Books, 2008)

Books Edited by Malcolm Boyd

• On the Battle Lines: A Manifesto for Our Times (Morehouse-Barlow, 1964)
• The Underground Church (Sheed & Ward, 1968)
• When in the Course of Human Events (with Paul Conrad, Sheed & Ward, 1973)
• Amazing Grace: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Faith (with Nancy L. Wilson, Crossing Press, 1991)
• Race & Prayer: Collected Voices, Many Dreams (w/Chester Talton, Morehouse, 2003)
• In Times Like These…How We Pray (with J. Jon Bruno, Seabury, 2005)

See also

In Spanish: Malcolm Boyd para niños