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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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. 

Citations

Photo Credits

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