Late Civil Rights leader still building bridges (Bayard Rustin)

[EFerrari]

BY ANDY HUMM

When Bayard Rustin died in 1987 at age 75, he Aegacy, the emergence of the Occupy Wall Street movement reflects Rustin’s twin concerns of economic justice and civil rights.

In the foreword to “I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters” (edited by Michael G. Long), Civil Rights leader Julian Bond ticks off the many facets of Rustin’s singular achievements beyond that famous march — including his role as “a master theorist and strategist for Martin Luther King” and the movement itself, “an activist opponent of racial discrimination since he was a child and a support of gay rights as he grew older,” his lifelong advocacy of “nonviolent direct action,” the fight against nuclear weapons, the struggles for prison reform, trade unionism, an end to colonial rule in Africa and pacifism in the face of war.

Bayard Rustin did not just talk the talk, but walked the walk and paid dearly for it whether beaten on a bus he was trying to desegregate in Nashville in 1942 or imprisoned during World War II for resisting the draft and later for opposing British colonial rule in India and Africa. He was mentored by giants such as labor organizer and activist A. Philip Randolph and pacifist A.J. Muste. In turn, he mentored Dr. King and peace activist David McReynolds.

A native of West Chester, PA, Rustin was already long-established in the peace and civil rights movements when he was invited to be one of the original cooperators in Penn South in 1962. The International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU), which built the sprawling project, wanted to make sure that it was integrated from the start — according to Walter Naegle, Rustin’s surviving partner. “At the dedication of the complex,” he said, “President Kennedy was there as was Eleanor Roosevelt. It was affordable housing” built by the labor movement, with which “Bayard was very friendly.”

http://chelseanow.com/articles/2012/03/15/news/doc4f56ec844e522475971699.txt

Bayard Rustin

March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987

Age cannot wither you nor custom stale your infinite variety

[frazzled]

1. Bayard Rustin was remarkable

It's sad that even a large portion of the Civil Rights movement ended up rejecting him because of his status as a gay man. I think history will prove him one of the brilliant minds and spirits of the era.

[EFerrari]

2. He was also a gorgeous kid who could sing like an angel

which never hurt an organizer in the least. lol

[EFerrari]

3. Kick. Various programs and activities for this week at the link. n/t