Straightwashing
the Civil Rights Movement
Do you recognize
anyone in this
photograph?
This is Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013
...so why isn't he as well known as
Martin Luther King Jr.,
or Malcolm X,
or Stokely Carmichael?
Bayard Rustin (posthumous)
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.
-- White House press release
Bayard Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania
on March 17, 1912.
His mother was Florence Rustin and his father was a man from town that he never really came to know.
Because his mother was young and unmarried
at the time of his birth,
he was raised to believe she was his oldest sister
and
that his grandmother (Julia) was his mother
and his grandfather (Janifer) was
his father.
He learned the truth when other students at his school
began to tease him about his parentage.
Bayard's grandmother was active in the NAACP
and was a Quaker who advocated for
peace, equality, and justice in their town.
His grandfather worked long hours and late nights
at a country club where he was allowed
to bring home extra food for his large family.
Bayard was offered scholarships to several colleges
based on his singing ability, but he bounced
from one to another ultimately dropping out.
In high school, Bayard was a talented
athlete, singer, speaker, and
writer.
Former teammates report he would tackle them
during football practice,
then recite poetry as he
helped them up.
I ask of you no shining gold;
I seek no epitaph or fame;
No monument of stone for me,
For man need never speak my name.
But when my flesh doth waste away
And seeds from stately trees do blow,
I pray that in my fertile clay
You gently let a small seed grow.
That seed, I pray, be evergreen
That in my dust may always be
That everlasting life and joy
You manifest in that green tree.
- poem by Bayard Rustin
There's some historical uncertainty surrounding his decision
to leave school and move to Harlem in 1937,
but a former lover reports Bayard telling him
that while he was in college,
he was caught having sex at a park or golf course
with a young white man from a prominent local family.
Whatever the reason, he left school, moved to Harlem,
and made a living singing in night clubs.
Through his involvement with the Quaker community
in New York, Bayard was introduced to wide variety of Leftist movements that were at their peak in the 1930s.
“Muste told his followers: ‘To know in one’s inmost being
the unity of all men in God; to express love at every moment and in every
relationship, to be channels of this quiet, unobtrusive, persistent force which
is always there… this is the meaning of pacifism.’”
– Lost Prophet, p. 42
Became a member of the Young Communist League,
but
quickly grew disillusioned with their hierarchical structure and
devotion to the USSR and resigned.
Got to know A.J. Muste, the leader of a Christian pacifist organization called the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).
A.J. Muste was an admirer of Gandhi's nonviolent resistance
and had a huge influence on Rustin.
Many describe their relationship as one of father and son.
Rustin began traveling all over the country on behalf of FOR, promoting pacifism during a time
when many were advocating for involvement in WWII.
Travel Incidents
During a visit to a college town,
Bayard sat a local diner and
was ignored by the staff.
He had a frank conversation with the waitress and
manager
and suggested they try serving him near the door
to see if anyone would
turn around and leave upon seeing him.
No one did,
and the manager changed his
policy of serving blacks.
[Reading of bus incident]
Throughout his travels, Rustin became increasingly aware
of the effects of Jim Crow on black people.
He began advocating the use of nonviolent direct action
in the struggle for civil rights.
FOR created the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE),
the
first official organization whose purpose was to use nonviolent resistance against racial oppression and injustice.
Rustin became more involved
in the cause of racial justice
than the peace movement.
CORE worked with A. Philip Randolph,
the nation’s most
prominent black leader,
to begin the March on Washington
Movement (MOWM)
The March on Washington was organized by Randolph and Rustin to protest the segregation of armed forces and the treatment of African-American workers.
One week
before the march,
FDR agreed to sign Executive Order 8802
that established the Fair
Labor Practices Committee and
banned racial discrimination in the national
defense industry.
As a result, Randolph cancelled the march, but meetings of the MOWM continued across the country in the summer of 1941.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor,
Rustin began visiting
Civilian Public Service camps
where conscientious objectors were assigned.
He also visited Japanese internment camps.
“Where peace as a theme went nowhere, racial and religious
reconciliation through nonviolence stimulated the formation of action
committees almost everywhere he went.”
– Lost Prophet, p.50
When Rustin was selected for military service in 1943,
he refused to serve.
He was imprisoned from 1944 to 1946
for violating the Selective Service Act.
In prison he agitated for the desegregation of dining halls.
“One out of six inmates in federal prison during World War
II were objectors to war; these prisoners of conscience were turning the
institutions upside down.”
– Lost Prophet, p. 73
In 1947, through his continued involvement
in FOR, CORE, and MOWM,
he organized the Freedom Rides
that took place on buses across the south.
[Brother Outsider, 24:10 - 25:55]
Rustin continued traveling throughout the country and abroad, teaching activists how to use nonviolent direct action
to achieve social justice.
In 1953, Rustin was arrested in Pasadena, California for engaging in sodomy with two men in the back of a parked car.
He plead guilty to “sexual perversion," serving 60 days in prison.
Homosexuality was against the law in the U.S. until a 2003 Supreme Court decision overturned all anti-sodomy laws.
Upon his release, Rustin was pushed out of leadership positions.
Everyone who knew Bayard knew he was gay.
He was always open
about his sexuality.
He even brought his boyfriends
(often handsome, younger,
white men)
to the FOR office and some events.
But when his sexuality became
public,
some people distanced themselves from him
for fear he would damage the
reputation
of the movements in which he was involved.
While Rustin was forced into the background,
he still found ways to stay involved in the movements.
He advised martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolent resistance in the lead up to the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956.
Prior to meeting with Rustin,
MLK had armed guards outside
of his home!
Rustin and King worked together to organize the
Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC).
In 1960, another member of the SCLC board,
U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr.,
threatened to publicize Rustin’s homosexuality
and
brief communist activity
due to concern that he would harm the credibility
of the
movement.
Rustin was forced to resign.
In 1963, due to his part in the original
March on Washington Movement,
Rustin was chosen to organize
the March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
[Brother Outsider 50:00 – 60:00]
After the March on Washington,
the Civil Rights movement gained mainstream credibility.
To capitalize on this,
Rustin aligned himself with the Democratic party,
which meant largely ignoring their involvement
in the escalation of the Vietnam War.
Some members of the pacifist movement felt betrayed,
but Bayard argued the importance of taking advantage of the movement's popularity while it was politically favorable.
A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin established
the A. Philip Randolph Institute to bring together
the civil rights movement and the black labor movement.
Rustin used his leadership position at the Institute
to encourage Martin Luther King, Jr.
to come to Memphis in support of the sanitation workers' strike.
This trip to Memphis ended with MLK's assassination.
It was Bayard who organized the march in memory of King.
Bayard Rustin continued to be active at home and abroad
as an advocate for human rights.
At the time of his death in 1987,
he had become a prominent advocate for gay rights.
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013,
President Barack Obama gave the medal to Walter Naegle,
Rustin's partner of ten years.
Citations
Slack, Megan. "President Obama Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients." whitehouse.gov. N.p., 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 16 July 2014.
D'Emilio, John. Lost Prophet: The Life and times of Bayard Rustin. New York: Free, 2003. Print.
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin. Dir. Bennet Singer and Nancy D. Kates. Independent Television Service, 2003. DVD.
Photo Credits
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/11/20/obama-honors-rustin-ride/
http://thegrio.com/2013/08/29/walter-naegle-partner-of-bayard-rustin-shares-memories-of-the-1963-march-organizer/
http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2013/08/28/bayard-rustin-walter-naegle-partner-gay-civil-rights-activist-march-washington
Straightwashing the Civil Rights Movement
By kdukes
Straightwashing the Civil Rights Movement
A look at the life of Bayard Rustin, the gay black man behind much of the Civil Rights Movement.
