Bayard Rustin (; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an African American leader in social movements for
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
,
socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
,
nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
, and
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
.
Rustin worked with
A. Philip Randolph on the
March on Washington Movement
The March on Washington Movement (MOWM), 1941–1946, organized by activists A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin was a tool designed to pressure the U.S. government into providing fair working opportunities for African Americans and desegregating ...
, in 1941, to press for an end to
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
in employment. Rustin later organized
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions '' Morgan v. Virginia ...
, and helped to organize the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...
to strengthen
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
's leadership and teaching King about
nonviolence
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
; he later served as an organizer for the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
.
Rustin worked alongside
Ella Baker
Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. In New York City and t ...
, a co-director of the
Crusade for Citizenship Crusade for Citizenship was the 1958 voter project organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The goal of the project was to double the number of African-American voters in the southern United States for the 1958 and 1960 ele ...
, in 1954; and before the
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...
, he helped organize a group, called "In Friendship", amongst Baker,
Stanley Levison of the
American Jewish Congress
The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts.
History
The AJCongress was ...
, and some other labor leaders. "In Friendship" provided material and legal assistance to those being evicted from their tenant farms and households in Clarendon County, Yazoo, and other places. Rustin became the head of the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
's
A. Philip Randolph Institute, which promoted the integration of formerly all-white unions and promoted the unionization of African Americans. During the 1970s and 1980s, Rustin served on many humanitarian missions, such as aiding refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia. At the time of his death in 1987, he was on a humanitarian mission in Haiti.
Rustin was a
gay man
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and, due to criticism over his sexuality, he usually acted as an influential adviser behind the scenes to civil-rights leaders. In the 1980s, he became a public advocate on behalf of gay causes, speaking at events as an activist and supporter of human rights.
Later in life, while still devoted to securing workers' rights, Rustin joined other union leaders in aligning with ideological
neoconservatism
Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and ...
, and (after his death) President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
praised him.
[Associated Press, "Reagan Praises Deceased Civil Rights Leader"](_blank)
On November 20, 2013, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
posthumously awarded Rustin the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
.
Early life and education
Rustin was born in 1912 in
West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...
, to Florence Rustin and Archie Hopkins, but raised by his maternal grandparents, Julia (Davis) and Janifer Rustin, as the ninth of their twelve children; growing up he believed his biological mother was his older sister.
[Bayard Rustin Biography](_blank)
, (2015), ''Biography.com''. Retrieved 07:37, February 28, 2015 His grandparents were relatively wealthy local caterers who raised Rustin in a large house.
Julia Rustin was a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, although she attended her husband's
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
. She was also a member of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
(NAACP). NAACP leaders such as
W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up i ...
and
James Weldon Johnson
James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...
were frequent guests in the Rustin home. With these influences in his early life, in his youth Rustin campaigned against racially discriminatory
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
.
One of the first documented realizations Rustin had of his sexuality was when he mentioned to his grandmother that he preferred to spend time with males rather than females. She responded, "I suppose that's what you need to do".
In 1932, Rustin entered
Wilberforce College
Wilberforce College is a further education Sixth Form College in Hull, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies nort ...
, a
historically black college
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. M ...
(HBCU) in Ohio operated by the AME Church. Rustin was active in a number of campus organizations, including the
Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was expelled from Wilberforce in 1936 after organizing a strike, and later attended Cheyney State Teachers College (now
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a m ...
). Cheyney honored Rustin with a posthumous "Doctor of Humane Letters" degree at its 2013 commencement.
After completing an activist training program conducted by the
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Rustin moved to
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
in 1937 and began studying at
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
. There he became involved in efforts to defend and free the
Scottsboro Boys, nine young black men in Alabama who were accused of raping two white women. He joined the
Young Communist League
The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International.
Examples of Y ...
for a small period of time in 1936, before becoming disillusioned with the party.
Soon after arriving in New York City, he became a member of Fifteenth Street Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).
Rustin was an accomplished tenor vocalist, an asset that earned him admission to both Wilberforce University and Cheyney State Teachers College with music scholarships. In 1939, he was in the chorus of the short-lived Broadway musical ''
John Henry'' that starred
Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his p ...
. Blues singer
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s.
White grew up in the Sout ...
was also a cast member and later invited Rustin to join his gospel and vocal harmony group, "Josh White and the Carolinians", with whom he made several recordings. This gave Rustin the opportunity to become a regular performer at the
Café Society
Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited with ...
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, widening his social and intellectual contacts. A few albums on Fellowship Records featuring his singing, such as ''
Bayard Rustin Sings a Program of Spirituals'', were produced from the 1950s through the 1970s.
Evolving affiliations
At the direction of the Soviet Union, the
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
(CPUSA) and its members were active in supporting
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
for African Americans.
The CPUSA, at the time following Stalin's "theory of nationalism", favored the creation of a separate nation for African Americans to be located in the American Southeast where the greatest proportion of the black population was concentrated. In 1941, after Germany invaded the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
,
Communist International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...
ordered the CPUSA to abandon civil rights work and focus on supporting U.S. entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Disillusioned, Rustin began working with members of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
of
Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.
Early years
Thomas was the ...
, particularly
A. Philip Randolph, the head of the
Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Founded in 1925, The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) was the first labor organization led by African Americans to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The BSCP gathered a membership of 18,000 passenger railwa ...
. Another socialist mentor was the pacifist
A. J. Muste, leader of the
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).
...
(FOR). FOR hired Rustin as a race relations secretary in the late summer of 1941.
The three of them proposed a march on
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in 1941 to protest racial segregation in the armed forces and widespread discrimination in employment. Meeting with President Roosevelt in the
Oval Office
The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.
The oval-shaped room ...
, Randolph respectfully and politely, but firmly told President Roosevelt that African Americans would march in the capital unless desegregation occurred. To prove their good faith, the organizers canceled the planned march after Roosevelt issued
Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit ethnic or racial discrimination in the nation's defense industry. It also set up the Fair Employment Practice Committee. It was the first federal ac ...
(the
Fair Employment Act), which banned discrimination in defense industries and federal agencies. The leader of the organizers, Randolph, canceled the march against Rustin's advisement.
The armed forces, in which Black troops typically had white commanding officers, were not desegregated until 1948, under an Executive Order issued by President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
, although the various branches took years to abide by the order, with the U.S. Marines Corps in 1960 being the last to desegregate.
Randolph felt that FOR had succeeded in their goal and wanted to dissolve the committee. Again, Rustin disagreed with him and voiced his differing opinion in a national press conference, which he later said he regretted.
Rustin traveled to California to help protect the property of the more than 120,000 Japanese-Americans (most of whom were U.S.-born citizens) who had been
imprisoned in internment camps. In the
6-3 Korematsu Decision, the Supreme Court upheld the forcible internment. Impressed with Rustin's organizational skills, A.J. Muste appointed him as FOR's secretary for student and general affairs.
Rustin was also a pioneer in the movement to desegregate interstate bus travel. In 1942, he boarded a bus in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
, bound for
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, and sat in the second row. A number of drivers asked him to move to the back, according to Southern practice of
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
, but Rustin refused. The bus was stopped by police 13 miles north of Nashville and Rustin was arrested. He was beaten and taken to a police station but was released uncharged.
He spoke about his decision to be arrested, and how that moment also clarified his witness as a gay person, in an interview with the ''Washington Blade'':
In 1942, Rustin assisted two other FOR staffers,
George Houser and
James Farmer
James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." ...
, and activist
Bernice Fisher
Elsie Bernice Fisher (December 8, 1916 – May 2, 1966) was a civil rights activist and union organizer. She was among the co-founders of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1942 in Chicago, Illinois.
Civil rights leader and union organiz ...
as they formed the
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission ...
(CORE). Rustin was not a direct founder, but was later described as "an uncle of CORE". CORE had been conceived as a pacifist organization based on the writings of
Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
, who used
non-violent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, c ...
against British rule in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. CORE was also influenced by his protégé
Krishnalal Shridharani's book ''War without Violence''.
As declared
conscientious objectors
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
who refused induction into the military, Rustin, Houser, and other members of FOR and CORE were convicted of violating the
Selective Service Act. From 1944 to 1946, Rustin was imprisoned in
Ashland Federal Prison in Kentucky, and later the
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary
The United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg (USP Lewisburg) is a medium-security United States federal prison in Pennsylvania for male inmates. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. ...
, in Pennsylvania. At both, he organized protests against racially segregated housing and dining facilities. During his incarceration, he also organized FOR's
Free India Committee. After his release from prison, he was frequently arrested for protesting against British colonial rule, in both India and Africa.
Just before a trip to Africa while college secretary of the FOR, Rustin recorded a 10-inch LP for the Fellowship Records label. He sang
spirituals
Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...
and
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...
songs, accompanied on the
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
by Margaret Davison.
Influence on the Civil Rights Movement
Rustin and Houser organized the
Journey of Reconciliation
The Journey of Reconciliation, also called "First Freedom Ride", was a form of nonviolent direct action to challenge state segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States.
Bayard Rustin and 18 other men and women were the ea ...
in 1947. This was the first of the
Freedom Rides
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions '' Morgan v. Virginia ...
to test the 1946 ruling of the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
in ''
Morgan v. Commonwealth of Virginia'' that banned
racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
in interstate travel as unconstitutional. Rustin and CORE executive secretary George Houser recruited a team of fourteen men, divided equally by race, to ride in pairs through Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The NAACP opposed CORE's
Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians.
Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...
tactics as too meek. Participants in the Journey of Reconciliation were arrested several times. Arrested with
Igal Roodenko and
Joe Felmet, Rustin served twenty-two days on a
chain gang
A chain gang or road gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include repairing buildings, building roads, or clearing land. The system was no ...
in
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
for violating state
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
laws regarding segregated seating on public transportation. On June 17, 2022, Chapel Hill
Superior Court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
Judge Allen Baddour, with full consent of the state, dismissed the 1947 North Carolina charges against the four Freedom Riders, with members of the exonerees' families in attendance.
In 1948, Rustin traveled to India to learn techniques of
nonviolent civil resistance directly from the leaders of the Gandhian movement. The conference had been organized before
Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
's assassination earlier that year. Between 1947 and 1952, Rustin also met with leaders of independence movements in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. In 1951, he formed the committee to Support South African Resistance, which later became the
American Committee on Africa
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
Rustin was arrested in
Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
, in January 1953 for sexual activity with two men in their 20s, in a parked car.
[; "Lecturer Sentenced to Jail on Morals Charge," ''Los Angeles Times'', January 23, 1953, 23.] Originally charged with vagrancy and lewd conduct, he pleaded guilty to a single, lesser charge of "sex perversion" (as
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
was officially referred to in California then, even if consensual) and served 60 days in jail. (In 2020 California governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
granted Rustin a posthumous
pardon
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
for this conviction.) The Pasadena arrest was the first time that Rustin's homosexuality had come to public attention. He had been and remained candid in private about his sexuality, although homosexual activity was still criminalized throughout the United States.
Rustin resigned from the
Fellowship of Reconciliation
The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).
...
(FOR) because of his convictions. They also greatly affected Rustin's relationship with
A. J. Muste
Abraham Johannes Muste ( ; January 8, 1885 – February 11, 1967) was a Dutch-born American clergyman and political activist. He is best remembered for his work in the labor movement, pacifist movement, antiwar movement, and civil rights movemen ...
, the director of the FOR. Muste had already tried to change Rustin's sexuality earlier in their relationship with no success. Later in Rustin's life, they continued their relationship with more tension than they had previously.
Rustin became the executive secretary of the
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League (WRL) is the oldest secular pacifist organization in the United States.
History
Founded in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I, it is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International. It continues ...
. Later, in Montana, an American Legion chapter made his conviction in Pasadena public to try to cancel his lectures in the state.
Rustin served as an unidentified member of the
American Friends Service Committee's task force to write "
Speak Truth to Power: A Quaker Search for an Alternative to Violence", published in 1955. This was one of the most influential and widely commented upon
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
essays in the United States. Rustin had wanted to keep his participation quiet, as he believed that his known sexual orientation would be used by critics as an excuse to compromise the 71-page pamphlet when it was published. It analyzed the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
and the American response to it, and recommended
non-violent
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
solutions.
Rustin took leave from the War Resisters League in 1956 to advise minister
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
of the Baptist Church on Gandhian tactics. King was organizing the public transportation
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
, which became known as the
Montgomery bus boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...
. According to Rustin, "I think it's fair to say that Dr. King's view of non-violent tactics was almost non-existent when the boycott began. In other words, Dr. King was permitting himself and his children and his home to be protected by guns." Rustin convinced King to abandon the armed protection, including a personal handgun. In a 1964 interview with
Robert Penn Warren
Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the liter ...
for the book ''
Who Speaks for the Negro?
''Who Speaks for the Negro?'' is a 1965 book of interviews by Robert Penn Warren conducted with Civil Rights Movement activists. The book was reissued by Yale University Press in 2014. The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbi ...
,'' Rustin also reflected that his integrative ideology began to differ from King's. He believed a social movement "has to be based on the collective needs of people at this time, regardless of color, creed, race."
The following year, Rustin and King began organizing the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civi ...
(SCLC). Many African American leaders were concerned that Rustin's sexual orientation and past Communist membership would undermine support for the civil rights movement. After the organization of the SCLC, Rustin and King planned a civil rights march adjacent to the
1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. This did not sit well with U.S. Representative
Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...
Powell threatened to leak to the press rumors of a fake affair between Rustin and King. King, acting in his interests, canceled the march, and Rustin left his position in the SCLC. King received criticism for this action from ''Harper's'' magazine, which wrote about him, "Lost much moral credit ... in the eyes of the young". Although Rustin was open about his sexual orientation and his convictions were a matter of public record, the events had not been discussed widely beyond the civil rights leadership. Rustin did not let this setback change his direction in the movement.
March on Washington
Despite shunning from some civil rights leaders,
A few weeks before the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, also known as simply the March on Washington or The Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
in August 1963,
South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond railed against Rustin as a "Communist, draft-dodger, and homosexual", and had his entire Pasadena arrest file entered in the record.
Thurmond also produced a
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
photograph of Rustin talking to King while King was bathing, to imply that there was a same-sex relationship between the two. Both men denied the allegation of an affair.
Rustin became involved in the March on Washington in 1962 when he was recruited by A. Philip Randolph. The march was planned to be a commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation one hundred years earlier.
Rustin was instrumental in organizing the march. He drilled off-duty police officers as marshals, bus captains to direct traffic, and scheduled the podium speakers.
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Earl ...
and Rachelle Horowitz were aides.
Despite King's support, NAACP chairman
Roy Wilkins
Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was a prominent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the ...
did not want Rustin to receive any public credit for his role in planning the march.
Roy Wilkins said, "This march is of such importance that we must not put a person of his liabilities at the head." Because of this conflict, Randolph served as the director of the march and Rustin as his deputy. During the planning of the march, Rustin feared his previous legal issues would pose a threat to the march. Nevertheless, Rustin did become well known. On September 6, 1963, a photograph of Rustin and Randolph appeared on the cover of ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine, identifying them as "the leaders" of the March.
[''Life Magazine''](_blank)
, September 6, 1963.
New York City school boycott
At the beginning of 1964,
Reverend Milton Galamison and other Harlem community leaders invited Rustin to coordinate a citywide boycott of public schools to protest their
de facto segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internat ...
. Prior to the boycott, the organizers asked the
United Federation of Teachers
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,000 ...
Executive Board to join the boycott or ask teachers to join the picket lines. The union declined, promising only to protect from reprisals any teachers who participated. More than 400,000 New Yorkers participated in a one-day February 3, 1964 boycott. Historian
Daniel Perlstein notes that "newspapers were astounded both by the numbers of black and Puerto Rican parents and children who boycotted and by the complete absence of violence or disorder from the protesters."
It was, Rustin stated, and newspapers reported, "the largest civil rights demonstration" in American history. Rustin said that "the movement to integrate the schools will create far-reaching benefits" for teachers as well as students.
[Daniel Perlstein, "The dead end of despair: Bayard Rustin, the 1968 New York school crisis, and the struggle for racial justice"](_blank)
, New York City government
The protest demanded complete integration of the city's schools (which would require some whites to attend schools in black neighborhoods), and it challenged the coalition between African Americans and white liberals. An ensuing white backlash affected relations among the black leaders. Writing to black labor leaders, Rustin denounced Galamison for seeking to conduct another boycott in the spring and soon abandoned the coalition.
Rustin organized a May 18 March which called for "maximum possible" integration. Perlstein recounts. "This goal was to be achieved through such modest programs as the construction of larger schools and the replacement of junior high schools with middle schools. The UFT and other white moderates endorsed the May rally, yet only four thousand protesters showed up, and the Board of Education was no more responsive to the conciliatory May demonstration than to the earlier, more confrontational boycott."
When Rustin was invited to speak at the
University of Virginia in 1964, school administrators tried to ban him, out of fear that he would organize a school boycott there.
From protest to politics
In the spring of 1964, Martin Luther King was considering hiring Rustin as executive director of SCLC but was advised against it by
Stanley Levison, a longtime activist friend of Rustin's. He opposed the hire because of what he considered Rustin's growing devotion to the political theorist
Max Shachtman
Max Shachtman (; September 10, 1904 – November 4, 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He went from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL–CIO President George Meany.
Beginnings
S ...
. "
Shachtmanites" have been described as an ideologically cultish group with ardently
anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
positions, and attachments to the Democratic Party and the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
.
At the
1964 Democratic National Convention, which followed
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer, also known as the Freedom Summer Project or the Mississippi Summer Project, was a volunteer campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi. ...
in Mississippi, Rustin became an adviser to the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to as the Freedom Democratic Party, was an American political party created in 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in the state of Mississippi during the ...
(MFDP); they were trying to gain recognition as the legitimate, non-
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
delegation from their state, where blacks had been officially
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
since the turn of the century (as they were generally throughout the South) and excluded from the official political system. DNC leaders Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey offered only two non-voting seats to the MFDP, with the official seating going to the regular segregationist Mississippi delegation. Rustin, following a line set by Shachtman and AFL–CIO leaders, urged the MFDP to take the offer. MFDP leaders, including
Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer (; Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights, voting and women's rights activist, Community organizing, community organizer, and a leader in the civil rights movement. She was the co-foun ...
and
Bob Moses Robert Moses (1888–1981) was an American city planner.
Robert Moses may also refer to:
* Bob Moses (activist) (1935–2021), American educator and civil rights activist
* Bob Moses, American football player in the 1962 Cotton Bowl Classic
* Bob M ...
, angrily rejected the arrangement; many of their supporters became highly suspicious of Rustin. Rustin's attempt to compromise appealed to the Democratic Party leadership.
![Bayard Rustin NYWTS 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Bayard_Rustin_NYWTS_2.jpg)
After the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
, Rustin advocated closer ties between the civil rights movement and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, specifically the party's base among the white working class, many of whom still had strong union affiliations. With
Tom Kahn
Tom David Kahn (September 15, 1938 – March 27, 1992) was an American social democrat known for his leadership in several organizations. He was an activist and influential strategist in the Civil Rights Movement. He was a senior adv ...
, Rustin wrote an influential article in 1964 called "From Protest to Politics", published in ''
Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
'' magazine; it analyzed the changing economy and its implications for African Americans. Rustin wrote presciently that the rise of automation would reduce the demand for low-skill high-paying jobs, which would jeopardize the position of the urban African American working class, particularly in northern states. He believed that the working class had to collaborate across racial lines for common economic goals. His prophecy has been proven right in the dislocation and loss of jobs for many urban African Americans due to the restructuring of industry in the coming decades.
Rustin believed that the African American community needed to change its political strategy, building and strengthening a political alliance with predominately white unions and other organizations (churches, synagogues, etc.) to pursue a common economic agenda. He wrote that it was time to move from protest to politics. Rustin's analysis of the economic problems of the Black community was widely influential.
Rustin argued that since black people could now legally sit in the restaurant after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, they needed to be able to afford service financially. He believed that a coalition of progressive forces to move the Democratic Party forward was needed to change the economic structure.
He also argued that the African American community was threatened by the appeal of
identity politics
Identity politics is a political approach wherein people of a particular race, nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social background, social class, or other identifying factors develop political agendas that are based upon these i ...
, particularly the rise of "
Black power". He thought this position was a fantasy of middle-class black people that repeated the political and moral errors of previous
black nationalists, while alienating the white allies needed by the African American community. ''Nation'' editor and
Harvard Law
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
Professor
Randall Kennedy
Randall LeRoy Kennedy (born September 10, 1954) is an American law professor at Harvard University and author. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in ...
noted later that, while Rustin had a general "disdain of nationalism", he had a "very different attitude toward Jewish nationalism" and was "unflaggingly supportive of
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a Nationalism, nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is ...
".
[Randall Kennedy, "From Protest to Patronage"](_blank)
, ''The Nation'', September 11, 2003
''Commentary'' editor-in-chief
Norman Podhoretz
Norman Podhoretz (; born January 16, 1930) is an American magazine editor, writer, and conservative political commentator, who identifies his views as " paleo-neoconservative". had commissioned the article from Rustin, and the two men remained intellectually and personally aligned for the next 20 years. Podhoretz and the magazine promoted the
neoconservative
Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and coun ...
movement, which had implications for civil rights initiatives as well as other economic aspects of the society. In 1985, Rustin publicly praised Podhoretz for his refusal to "pander to minority groups" and for opposing affirmative action quotas in hiring as well as black studies programs in colleges.
Because of these positions, Rustin was criticized as a "sell-out" by many of his former colleagues in the civil rights movement, especially those connected to
grassroots organizing
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
. They charged that he was lured by the material comforts that came with a less radical and more professional type of activism. Biographer
John D'Emilio
John D'Emilio (born 1948) is a professor emeritus of history and of women's and gender studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his B.A. from Columbia College and Ph ...
rejects these characterizations, and "portrays the final third of Rustin's life as one in which his reputation among his former allies was routinely questioned. After decades of working outside the system, they simply could not accept working within the system."
However, Randall Kennedy wrote in a 2003 article that descriptions of Rustin as "a bought man" are "at least partly true", noting that his sponsorship by the
AFL–CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million ac ...
brought him some financial stability but imposed boundaries on his politics.
Kennedy notes that despite Rustin's conservative turn in the mid-1960s, he remained a lifelong socialist,
and D'Emilio argues that in the final phase of his life, Rustin remained on the left: "D'Emilio explains, even as Rustin was taking what appeared to be a more "conservative" turn, he remained committed to social justice. Rustin was making radical and ambitious demands for a basic redistribution of wealth in American society, including universal healthcare, the abolition of poverty, and full employment."
Labor movement: Unions and social democracy
Rustin increasingly worked to strengthen the labor movement, which he saw as the champion of empowerment for the African American community and for economic justice for all Americans. He contributed to the labor movement's two sides, economic and political, through the support of labor unions and social-democratic politics.
He was the founder and became the Director of the
A. Philip Randolph Institute, which coordinated the AFL-CIO's work on civil rights and economic justice. He became a regular columnist for the AFL-CIO newspaper.
On the political side of the labor movement, Rustin increased his visibility as a leader of the American movement for
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
. In early 1972, he became a national co-chairman of the Socialist Party of America. In December 1972, when the Socialist Party changed its name to
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
(SDUSA) by a vote of 73–34, Rustin continued to serve as national co-chairman, along with
Charles S. Zimmerman
Charles S. "Sasha" Zimmerman (1896–1983) was an American socialist activist and trade union leader, who was an associate of Jay Lovestone. Zimmerman had a career spanning five decades as an official of the International Ladies Garment Workers U ...
of the
International Ladies Garment Workers' Union
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female memb ...
(ILGWU).
[ (limited free access)] In his opening speech to the December 1972 Convention, Co-Chairman Rustin called for SDUSA to organize against the "reactionary policies of the Nixon Administration"; Rustin also criticized the "irresponsibility and élitism of the 'New Politics' liberals".
In later years, Rustin served as the national chairman of SDUSA.
During the 1960s, Rustin was a member of the
League for Industrial Democracy The League for Industrial Democracy (LID) was founded as a successor to the Intercollegiate Socialist Society in 1921. Members decided to change its name to reflect a more inclusive and more organizational perspective.
Background Intercollegiate So ...
. He would remain a member for years, and became vice president during the 1980s.
Foreign policy
Like many liberals and some socialists, Rustin supported President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
's
containment policy
Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term ''cordon sanitaire'', which wa ...
against
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
, while criticizing specific conduct of this policy. In particular, to maintain independent labor unions and political opposition in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, Rustin and others gave critical support to U.S. military intervention in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, while calling for a negotiated peace treaty and democratic elections. Rustin criticized the specific conduct of the war, though. For instance, in a fundraising letter sent to War Resisters League supporters in 1964, Rustin wrote of being "angered and humiliated by the kind of war being waged, a war of torture, a war in which civilians are being machine-gunned from the air, and in which American napalm bombs are being dropped on the villages."
Along with
Allard Lowenstein
Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (January 16, 1929 – March 14, 1980)Lowenstein's gravestone, Arlington National Cemeteryphoto onlineon the cemetery's official website. Accessed online 28 October 2006.[Norman Thomas
Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian minister who achieved fame as a socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America.
Early years
Thomas was the ...]
, Rustin worked with the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
-sponsored Committee on Free Elections in the Dominican Republic, which lent international credibility to a 1966 ballot effectively rigged against the socialist former president,
Juan Bosch.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Rustin worked as a human rights and
election monitor
Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an electi ...
for
Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
.
In 1970, Rustin called for the U.S. to send military jets in the fight against
Arab states
The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
by Israel; referring to a ''New York Times'' article he authored, Rustin wrote to Prime Minister
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
"...I hope that the ad will also have an effect on a serious domestic question: namely, the relations between the Jewish and the Negro communities in America." Rustin was concerned about unity between two groups that he argued faced discrimination in America and abroad, and also believed that Israel's democratic ideals were proof that justice and equality would prevail in the Arab territories despite the atrocities of war. His former colleagues in the peace movement considered it to be a profound betrayal of Rustin's nonviolent ideals.
Rustin maintained his strongly anti-Soviet and anti-communist views later in his life, especially with regard to Africa. Rustin co-wrote with
Carl Gershman
Carl Gershman (born July 20, 1943) is an American civil servant who served as the president of the National Endowment for Democracy since its founding in 1984 until 2021. Gershman previously served as the United States Ambassador to the United Nat ...
(a former director of
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
and future
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
appointee) an essay entitled "Africa, Soviet Imperialism & the Retreat of American Power", in which he decried Russian and Cuban involvement in the
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
and defended the military intervention by
apartheid South Africa
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
on behalf of the
National Liberation Front of Angola
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independenc ...
(FNLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (
UNITA
The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...
). "And if a South African force did intervene at the urging of ''black'' leaders and on the side of the forces that clearly represent the ''black'' majority in Angola, to counter a non-African army of Cubans ten times its size, by what standard of political judgment is this immoral?" Rustin accused the Soviet Union of a classic imperialist agenda in Africa in pursuit of economic resources and vital sea lanes, and called the
Carter Administration "hypocritical" for claiming to be committed to the welfare of blacks while doing too little to thwart Russian and Cuban expansion throughout Africa.
In 1976, Rustin was a member of the anti-communist
Committee on the Present Danger
The Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) is the name used by a succession of United States, American neoconservative and Anti-communism, anti-communist foreign policy interest groups. Throughout its four iterations—in the 1950s, the 1970s, the ...
(CPD), founded by politician
Paul Nitze
Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 – October 19, 2004) was an American politician who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. He is best kn ...
. Nitze was a member of
Team B
Team B was a competitive analysis exercise commissioned by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to analyze threats the Soviet Union posed to the security of the United States. It was created, in part, due to a 1974 publication by Albert Wohlstett ...
, the independent analysts commissioned by
George Bush
George Bush most commonly refers to:
* George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president
* George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president
Georg ...
to scrutinize the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
's assessments of the Soviet nuclear threat. CPD promoted Team B's controversial intelligence claims about Soviet foreign policy, using them as an argument against arms control agreements such as
SALT II
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War superpowers dealt with arms control in two rounds o ...
. This cemented Rustin's leading role in the neoconservative movement.
Soviet Jewry movement
The plight of Jews in the Soviet Union reminded Rustin of the struggles that blacks faced in the United States. Soviet Jews faced many of the same forms of discrimination in employment, education, and housing, while also being prisoners within their own country by being denied the chance to emigrate by Soviet authorities. After seeing the injustice that Soviet Jews faced, Rustin became a leading voice in advocating for the movement of Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel. He worked closely with Senator Henry Jackson of Washington, who introduced legislation that tied trade relations with the Soviet Union to their treatment of Jews.
[Podair 2009, p. 99] In 1966 he chaired the historic Ad hoc Commission on Rights of Soviet Jews organized by the Conference on the Status of Soviet Jews, leading a panel of six jurors in the commission's public tribunal on Jewish life in the Soviet Union. Members of the panel included
Telford Taylor
Telford Taylor (February 24, 1908 – May 23, 1998) was an American lawyer and professor. Taylor was known for his role as lead counsel in the prosecution of war criminals after World War II, his opposition to McCarthyism in the 1950s, and his o ...
, the Nuremberg war trial prosecutor and Columbia University professor of law, Dr. John C. Bennett, president of the Union Theological Seminary; Reverend George B. Ford, pastor emeritus of the Corpus Christi Church; Samuel Fishman representing United Automobile Workers; and Norman Thomas, veteran Socialist leader.
The commission collected testimonies from Soviet Jews and compiled them into a report that was delivered to the secretary-general of the United Nations. The report urged the international community to demand that the Soviet authorities allow Jews to practice their religion, preserve their culture, and emigrate from the USSR at their will.
The testimonies from Soviet Jews were published by
Moshe Decter, the executive secretary of the Conference on the Status of Soviet Jews, in a book—''Redemption! Jewish freedom letters from Russia'', with a foreword by Rustin. Through the 1970s and 1980s Rustin wrote several articles on the subject of Soviet Jewry and appeared at Soviet Jewry movement rallies, demonstrations, vigils, and conferences, in the United States and abroad. He co-sponsored the National Interreligious Task Force on Soviet Jewry. Rustin allied with Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
, an outspoken advocate for Soviet Jewry, and worked closely with Senator
Henry Jackson, informing the
Jackson–Vanik amendment
The Jackson–Vanik amendment to the Trade Act of 1974 is a 1974 provision in United States federal law intended to affect U.S. trade relations with countries with non-market economies (originally, countries of the Communist bloc) that restrict fr ...
, vital legislation that restricted United States trade with the Soviet Union in relation to its treatment of Jews.
Gay rights
Davis Platt, Bayard's partner from the 1940s, said "I never had any sense at all that Bayard felt any shame or guilt about his homosexuality. That was rare in those days. Rare."
Rustin did not engage in any gay rights activism until the 1980s. He was urged to do so by his partner
Walter Naegle, who has said that "I think that if I hadn't been in the office at that time, when these invitations
rom gay organizationscame in, he probably wouldn't have done them."
Due to the lack of marriage equality at the time, Rustin and Naegle took the then not unusual step to solidify their partnership and protect their union legally through adoption: in 1982 Rustin adopted Naegle, 30 years old at the time. Naegle explained that Bayard:
Rustin testified in favor of New York State's Gay Rights Bill. In 1986, he gave a speech "The New Niggers Are Gays" in which he asserted:
Also in 1986, Rustin was invited to contribute to the book ''In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology''. He declined, explaining:
I was not involved in the struggle for gay rights as a youth... I did not "come out of the closet" voluntarily—circumstances forced me out. While I have no problem with being publicly identified as homosexual, it would be dishonest of me to present myself as one who was in the forefront of the struggle for gay rights... I fundamentally consider sexual orientation to be a private matter. As such, it has not been a factor which has greatly influenced my role as an activist.
Death and beliefs
![Bayard Rustin before demonstration NYWTS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Bayard_Rustin_before_demonstration_NYWTS.jpg)
Rustin died on August 24, 1987, of a perforated
appendix. An obituary in ''The New York Times'' reported, "Looking back at his career, Mr. Rustin, a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
, once wrote: 'The principal factors which influenced my life are 1) nonviolent tactics; 2) constitutional means; 3) democratic procedures; 4) respect for human personality; 5) a belief that all people are one. Rustin was survived by Walter Naegle, his partner of ten years.
Rustin's personal philosophy is said to have been inspired by combining Quaker pacifism with socialism (as taught by
A. Philip Randolph), and the theory of non-violent protest popularized by
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
.
President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
issued a statement on Rustin's death, praising his work for civil rights and "for human rights throughout the world". He added that Rustin "was denounced by former friends, because he never gave up his conviction that minorities in America could and would succeed based on their individual merit".
Legacy
According to journalist Steve Hendrix, Rustin "faded from the shortlist of well-known civil rights lions", in part because he was active behind the scenes, and also because of public discomfort with his sexual orientation and former communist membership.
In addition, Rustin's tilt toward neo-conservatism in the late 1960s led him into a disagreement with most civil rights leaders. But, the 2003 documentary film ''
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin'', a
Sundance Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee, and the March 2012 centennial of Rustin's birth have contributed to renewed recognition of his extensive contributions.
Rustin served as chairman of
Social Democrats, USA
Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA) is a small political association of social democrats founded in 1972. The Socialist Party of America (SPA) had stopped running independent presidential candidates and consequently the term "party" in the SPA's na ...
, which, ''The Washington Post'' wrote in 2013, "was a breeding ground for many
neoconservatives
Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and cou ...
". French historian
Justin Vaïsse
Justin Vaïsse (born 26 June 1973) is a French historian and intellectual. Since March 2019, he is the Director General of the Paris Peace Forum organization, an independent NGO he founded in 2018 under the impetus of French President Emmanuel Ma ...
classifies him as a "right-wing socialist" and "second age neoconservative", citing his role as vice-chair of the
Coalition for a Democratic Majority
The Coalition for a Democratic Majority (CDM) was a centrist faction, active in the 1970s within the Democratic Party of the United States.
The CDM was formed in December 1972, after the landslide victory of Republican Richard Nixon over Democr ...
, which was involved in the second incarnation of the
Committee on the Present Danger
The Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) is the name used by a succession of United States, American neoconservative and Anti-communism, anti-communist foreign policy interest groups. Throughout its four iterations—in the 1950s, the 1970s, the ...
.
According to
Daniel Richman
Daniel C. Richman is an American attorney. He is the Paul J. Kellner Professor of Law at Columbia Law School.
Education
Richman received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1980 and a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1984.
Career
Richman ...
, former clerk for
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
justice
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
, Marshall's friendship with Rustin, who was open about his homosexuality, played a significant role in Marshall's dissent from the court's 5–4 decision upholding the constitutionality of state sodomy laws in the
later overturned 1986 case ''
Bowers v. Hardwick
''Bowers v. Hardwick'', 478 U.S. 186 (1986), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld, in a 5–4 ruling, the constitutionality of a Georgia sodomy law criminalizing oral and anal sex in private between consenting adults ...
''.
Several buildings have been named in honor of Rustin, including the
Bayard Rustin Educational Complex located in
Chelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The area's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, the Hudson River and West Street to the west, and Sixth Avenue to the east, with its northe ...
; Bayard
Rustin High School
Bayard Rustin High School is a high school of the West Chester Area School District, in Westtown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.[West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...]
; Bayard Rustin Library at the Affirmations Gay/Lesbian Community Center in
Ferndale, Michigan
Ferndale is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms part of the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,190.
Ferndale is well known in the Detroit area for its LGBT population and progr ...
; the Bayard Rustin Social Justice Center in
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...
, and the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. Rustin is one of two men who have both participated in the
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...
and had a school,
West Chester Rustin High School
Bayard Rustin High School is a high school of the West Chester Area School District, in Westtown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania.[Haverford College
Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...]
awarded Rustin an honorary
doctorate in law.
1990s and 2000s
In 1995, a
Pennsylvania State Historical Marker was placed at Lincoln and Montgomery Avenues, West Chester, Pennsylvania, on the grounds of
Henderson High School, which he attended.
A 1998 anthology movie, ''Out of the Past'', featured letters and archival footage of Rustin.
The
West Chester Area School District voted in 2002 to approve the creation of
Bayard Rustin High School in a 6–3 vote. Those in favor mentioned Rustin's involvement in the civil rights movement, and opposition was tied to Rustin's sexuality and political views. The school opened in 2006.
In July 2007 after a year's collaboration starting in June 2006, a group of San Francisco Bay Area Black LGBT community leaders officially formed the Bayard Rustin Coalition (BRC), with the permission of the Estate of Bayard Rustin. The BRC promotes greater Black participation in the electoral process, advances civil and human rights issues, and promotes the legacy of Rustin.
2010s and beyond
In 2011, the Bayard Rustin Center for LGBTQA Activism, Awareness, and Reconciliation was announced at
Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...
, a Quaker school. Formerly the Queer and Allied Resource Center, the center was rededicated in March 2011 with the permission of the Estate of Bayard Rustin and featured a keynote address by social justice activist
Mandy Carter.
In 2012, Rustin was inducted into the
Legacy Walk
The Legacy Walk is an outdoor public display on North Halsted Street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, which celebrates LGBT contributions to world history and culture. According to its website, it is "the world's only outdoor museum walk and y ...
, an outdoor public display which celebrates
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
history and people. In 2013, Rustin was selected as an honoree in the
United States Department of Labor Hall of Honor.
On August 8, 2013, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
posthumously awarded Rustin the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
, the highest civilian award in the United States. The citation in the press release stated:
Bayard Rustin was an unyielding activist for civil rights, dignity, and equality for all. An advisor to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he promoted nonviolent resistance, participated in one of the first Freedom Rides, organized the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, and fought tirelessly for marginalized communities at home and abroad. As an openly gay African American, Mr. Rustin stood at the intersection of several of the fights for equal rights.
At the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
ceremony on November 20, 2013, President Obama presented Rustin's award to Walter Naegle, his partner of ten years at the time of Rustin's death.
In 2014, Rustin was one of the inaugural honorees in the
Rainbow Honor Walk
The Rainbow Honor Walk (RHW) is a walk of fame installation in San Francisco, California to honor notable lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals from around the world "who left a lasting mark on society." Its bronze pla ...
, a
walk of fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
in San Francisco's
Castro neighborhood noting
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
people who have "made significant contributions in their fields". In April 2018, the
Montgomery County Board of Education
A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution.
The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...
in Maryland voted to name the
Bayard Rustin Elementary School after Rustin.
Canadian writer Steven Elliott Jackson wrote a play that stages an imaginary meeting and one-night-stand between Rustin and
Walter Jenkins
Walter Wilson Jenkins (March 23, 1918 – November 23, 1985) was an American political figure and longtime top aide to U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. Jenkins' career ended after he was arrested and charged with "disorderly conduct" with ano ...
of the Johnson administration called ''The Seat Next to the King''. The play won the award for Best Play at the 2017
Toronto Fringe Festival
The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...
. A full-length play with music, written by Steve H. Broadnax III, ''Bayard Rustin Inside Ashland'', dramatizing Rustin's
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
prison experience and its central role in his lifetime of activism, had its world premiere on May 22, 2022, at
People's Light and Theatre Company
People's Light is a professional, not-for-profit theatre in Chester County, Pennsylvania .
About People's Light
Founded in 1974, by Dick Keeler, Ken Marini, and Meg and Danny Fruchter, People's Light serves as one of Pennsylvania's largest prof ...
in
Malvern, Pennsylvania
Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, and ...
.
In June 2019, Rustin was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is an American memorial wall in New York City dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes." The wall is located inside of the Stonewall Inn and is a part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U. ...
within the
Stonewall National Monument
Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...
(SNM) in New York City's
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the s ...
.
The SNM is the first
U.S. national monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments prot ...
dedicated to
LGBTQ rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 33 ...
and
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
, and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the
50th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
.
In 2018, the
Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice
The Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice is a nonprofit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey. It hosts programming and events geared towards public health, gender and sexual advocacy, and civil rights for marginalized people, particular ...
was established in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
, with Naegle acting as Board Member Emeritus. It is a community activist center and
safe space
The term safe space refers to places "intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations". The term originated in LGBT culture, but has since expanded to include any place where a margi ...
for LGBTQ kids, intersectional families, and marginalized people.
In January 2020, California State Senator
Scott Wiener
Scott Wiener (born May 11, 1970) is an American politician and a member of the California State Senate. A Democrat, he represents the 11th Senate District, encompassing San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County.
Prior to his election to th ...
, chair of the
California Legislative LGBT Caucus
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus (formerly the California Legislative LGBT Caucus) is an American political organization formed in June 2002 and composed of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the California State Leg ...
, and Assemblywoman
Shirley Weber
Shirley Weber (née Nash; born September 20, 1948) is an American academic and politician serving as the secretary of state of California. She was previously a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th Assembly District, which includ ...
, chair of the
California Legislative Black Caucus The California Legislative Black Caucus, also known as the CLBC, is a California political organization composed of African Americans elected to the California State Legislature.
Priorities
The California Legislative Black Caucus represents and ad ...
, called for Governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
to issue a pardon for Rustin's 1953 arrest for having sex with a man in a car, citing Rustin's legacy as a civil rights icon. Newsom issued the pardon on February 5 while also announcing a new process for fast-tracking pardons for those convicted under historical laws making homosexuality illegal.
In 2021,
Higher Ground Productions
Higher Ground Productions, also known simply as Higher Ground, is an American production company founded in 2018 by former United States President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
History
In May 2018, the Obamas launched Higher ...
, founded by
Michelle and
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, announced production of
''Rustin'', a
biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...
about Rustin's life directed by
George C. Wolfe
George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction o ...
and starring
Colman Domingo
Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, writer, and director widely known for his performance as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (2011), and for his role as recovering drug addict Ali on HBO ...
in the titular role.
In 2022, a street in
Nyack, New York
Nyack () is a Village (New York), village located primarily in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, Rockland County, New York (state), New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retai ...
was renamed "Bayard Rustin Way" to honor Rustin's memory.
Publications
* ''Interracial primer'', New York: Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1943
* ''Interracial workshop: progress report'', New York: Sponsored by Congress of Racial Equality and Fellowship of Reconciliation, 1947
* ''Journey of reconciliation: report'', New York : Fellowship of Reconciliation, Congress of Racial Equality, 1947
* ''We challenged Jim Crow! a report on the journey of reconciliation, April 9–23, 1947'', New York: Fellowship of Reconciliation, Congress of Racial Equality, 1947
* ''"In apprehension how like a god!"'', Philadelphia: Young Friends Movement 1948
* ''The revolution in the South"'', Cambridge, Massachusetts. : Peace Education Section, American Friends Service Committee, 1950s
* ''Report on Montgomery, Alabama'' New York: War Resisters League, 1956
* ''A report and action suggestions on non-violence in the South'' New York: War Resisters League, 1957
* ''Civil rights: the true frontier'', New York: Donald Press, 1963
* ''From protest to politics: the future of the civil rights movement'', New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1965
* ''The city in crisis'', (introduction) New York: A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, 1965
* ''"Black power" and coalition politics'', New York, American Jewish Committee 1966
* ''Which way?'' (with
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
), New York: American Press, 1966
* ''The Watts "Manifesto" & the McCone report''., New York, League for Industrial Democracy 1966
* ''Fear, frustration, backlash: the new crisis in civil rights'', New York, Jewish Labor Committee 1966
* ''The lessons of the long hot summer'', New York, American Jewish Committee 1967
* ''The Negro community: frustration politics, sociology and economics'' Detroit: UAW Citizenship-Legislative Department, 1967
* ''A way out of the exploding ghetto'', New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1967
* ''The alienated: the young rebels today and why they're different'', Washington, D.C.:
International Labor Press Association, 1967
* ''"Right to work" laws: a trap for America's minorities''. New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute 1967
* ''Civil rights: the movement re-examined'' (contributor), New York: A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, 1967
* ''Separatism or integration, which way for America?: a dialogue'' (with Robert Browne), New York, A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, 1968
* ''The Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, an analysis'', New York, American Jewish Committee 1968
* ''The labor-Negro coalition, a new beginning'', Washington? D.C.: American Federationist?, 1968
* ''The anatomy of frustration'', New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, 1968
* ''Morals concerning minorities, mental health and identity'', New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1969
* ''Black studies: myths & realities'', (contributor) New York: A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, 1969
* ''Conflict or coalition?: the civil rights struggle and the trade union movement today'', New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1969
* ''Three essays'', New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1969
* ''Black rage, White fear: the full employment answer: an address'', Washington, D.C.:
Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union 1970
* ''A word to black students'', New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1970
* ''The failure of black separatism'', New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1970
* ''The blacks and the unions'' (contributor), New York: A. Philip Randolph Educational Fund, 1971
*
Down the line; the collected writings of Bayard Rustin', Chicago:
Quadrangle Books
Times Books (previously the New York Times Book Company) is a publishing imprint owned by the New York Times Company and licensed to Henry Holt and Company.
Times Books began as the New York Times Book Company in 1969, when The New York Times C ...
, 1971
* ''Affirmative action in an economy of scarcity'' (with
Norman Hill
Norman Hill (born April 22, 1933 in Summit, New Jersey) is an American administrator, civil rights activist and labor leader. He attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania and received a bachelor's degree in 1956 in the field of sociology. He was ...
), New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1974
*
Seniority and racial progress' (with Norman Hill), New York: A. Philip Randolph Institute, 1975
* ''Have we reached the end of the second reconstruction?'', Bloomington, Indiana: The
Poynter Center, 1976
*
Strategies for freedom: the changing patterns of Black protest', New York: Columbia University Press 1976
* ''Africa, Soviet imperialism and the retreat of American power'', New York: Social Democrats, USA (reprint), 1978
* ''South Africa: is peaceful change possible? a report '' (contributor), New York:
New York Friends Group, 1984
*
Time on two crosses: the collected writings of Bayard Rustin', San Francisco:
Cleis Press
Cleis Press is an American independent publisher of books in the areas of sexuality, erotica, feminism, gay and lesbian studies, gender studies, fiction, and human rights. The press was founded in 1980 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It later moved to ...
, 2003
*
I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin's Life in Letters':
City Lights
''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...
, 2012
See also
*
List of civil rights leaders
Civil rights leaders are influential figures in the promotion and implementation of political freedom and the expansion of personal civil liberties and rights. They work to protect individuals and groups from political repressio ...
*
Timeline of the civil rights movement
This is a timeline of the civil rights movement in the United States, a nonviolent mid-20th century freedom movement to gain legal equality and the enforcement of constitutional rights for people of color. The goals of the movement included secu ...
References
Bibliography
* Anderson, Jervis. ''Bayard Rustin: Troubles I've Seen'' (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997).
* Bennett, Scott H. ''Radical Pacifism: The War Resisters League and Gandhian Nonviolence in America, 1915–1963'' (Syracuse Univ. Press, 2003). .
* Branch, Taylor. ''Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–63'' (New York: Touchstone, 1989).
* Carbado, Devon W. and Donald Weise, editors. ''Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin'' (San Francisco: Cleis Press, 2003).
* D'Emilio, John. ''Lost Prophet: Bayard Rustin and the Quest for Peace and Justice in America'' (New York: The Free Press, 2003).
* D'Emilio, John. ''Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin'' (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2004).
*Frazier, Nishani (2017). ''Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism''. University of Arkansas Press. .
* Haskins, James. ''Bayard Rustin: Behind the Scenes of the Civil Rights Movement'' (New York: Hyperion, 1997).
* Hirschfelder, Nicole. ''Oppression as Process: The Case of Bayard Rustin'' (Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, 2014).
* Kates, Nancy and Bennett Singer (dirs.) ''Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin'' (2003)
* King, Martin Luther Jr.; Carson, Clayborne; Luker, Ralph & Penny A. Russell ''The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume IV: Symbol of the Movement, January 1957 – December 1958''. University of California Press, 2000.
* Le Blanc, Paul and Michael Yates, ''A Freedom Budget for All Americans: Recapturing the Promise of the Civil Rights Movement in the Struggle for Economic Justice Today'' (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2013).
*Podair, Jerald E. "Bayard Rustin: American Dreamer" (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Pub., 2009).
*
* Lewis, David L. ''King: A Biography''. (University of Illinois Press, 1978). .
* Rustin, Bayard. ''Down the Line: The Collected Writings of Bayard Rustin'' (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1971).
*
External links
SNCC Digital Gateway: Bayard Rustin Documentary website created by the SNCC Legacy Project and Duke University, telling the story of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee & grassroots organizing from the inside-out
Bayard Rustin – Who Is This Man?*
FBI file on Bayard Rustin
''Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Leader'', from Quakerinfo.org''Brother Outsider'', a documentary on RustinRandall Kennedy, "From Protest to Patronage." ''The Nation''Guide to the Papers of Bayard Rustinat the
American Jewish Historical Society
The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and ...
.
*
*
Bayard Rustin Collected Papers finding aidat th
Swarthmore College Peace Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustin, Bayard
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