Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement

In Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement, author Daniel Levine does an admirable job of describing a key figure in US history whose name is too often forgotten. The book is Levine's response to the public's lack of familiarity with Rustin beyond the occasional recognition of his importance as "some civil rights guy." The text is equal parts sympathetic biography and informative history book, but it does an admirable job of introducing the uninitiated to one of the most influential men in the fight for civil rights. In 1912, Rustin was born in Pennsylvania where his grandmother and grandfather raised him. Rustin's grandmother's activities - NAACP member, creator of an integrated gardening club, and co-founder of a black children's nursery, nurse's association, and community center - clearly influenced his development as an activist. Looking back on Rustin's early life, the first instance where he engaged in nonviolent direct action (NVDA) to resist segregation was as a student athlete in an integrated high school. Rustin and one of his friends refused to compete in a race unless they were permitted to stay in the same hotel as their white teammates, which they were subsequently allowed to do. High school was also the time when Rustin began to consider the possibility that he was gay, although he asserts that he did not fully realize this until his college years. In 1936, Rustin joined the Society of Friends and became a peace activist the following summer, traveling around the country and speaking out against war. Rustin later joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), and the March on Washington (MOW) movement led by A. Phillip Randolph, who introduced Rustin to Gandhi's work. This period also marked the beginning of Rustin's involvement with the two goals which he would spend years working on, dividing his time alternately pursuing international peace and an end to racism in the U.S. Unfortunately, Rustin was subjected to physical violence and arrest on numerous occasions throughout his life. Long before the Freedom Riders, Rustin was beaten by policemen and dragged from a bus for peacefully refusing to sanction an unjust law by moving to the back of a bus. Doubtlessly, Rustin's work was made even more difficult because of his sexual orientation. After his arrest in California on a "morals charge," Rustin's identity as a homosexual was public knowledge and was used by his opponents, along with his brief support for communism, to discredit his work and to force him to hide behind leaders like Randolph as he continued to fight for civil rights. This, more than anything, may explain why Rustin is not as well known as other civil rights activists. Although his life was not without suffering, Rustin certainly had his share of successes too. A thorough list of all of Rustin's accomplishments would take pages to list, but the book covers them in detail. As Rustin aged, he began to embrace democratic politics over demonstrations as the best

Daniel Levine's biography Bayard Rustin and the Civil Rights Movement portrays the life of the complex and unique Bayard Rustin. Born in Pennsylvania in 1912, Bayard grew up in an environment that would prepare him for a life campaigning for pacifism, civil rights, and human rights, interacting with people of various backgrounds in personal, professional, and political arenas. Rustin was raised by his grandmother, an early member of the NAACP, who instilled Quaker pacifism in Bayard and also exposed him to prominent black figures. Rustin attended an integrated high school where he excelled, and began to resist racial discrimination and to inspire other students, black and white, to do so as well. He also formed friendships with Jewish classmates and empathized with them. Rustin developed as a brilliant, confident, compassionate man with the ability and charisma to accomplish great things as a pacifist and civil rights supporter. Rustin is best known as the organizer behind the 1963 March on Washington at which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, but he began his pursuit of social justice long before that, and the causes he advocated also included peace, gay rights (Rustin was homosexual), and combating poverty. In World War II, Rustin became involved in the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), an anti-war group. As a FOR member, he befriended Jay Holmes Smith, a supporter of Gandhi in India, and from him developed a deep understanding of non-violent direct action (NVDA). As a conscientious objector, he was imprisoned for refusing to comply with the draft in any way. In prison, he began working to desegregate black and white prisoners, applying the principles of NVDA for the first time in the US to challenge racial discrimination. With the end of the war, Rustin's attention began its shift from the pacifist movement to the civil rights movement. Notably, he helped organize the Journey for Reconciliation in 1947, which would serve as the model for the Freedom Rides in 1961. In the 1950's, Rustin became acquainted with Martin Luther King, Jr., whom he exposed to NVDA. Rustin inspired King to utilize NVDA as the most effective tool in the Civil Rights Movement. When King became the major figure of the movement, Rustin advised him. As the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum, Rustin and A. Phillip Randolph organized the March on Washington, the most momentous event of the movement. Rustin sought not only to stage protests, but to effect change. This led him to his close involvement with the Democrats in the 1960's, as the Johnson administration achieved passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. Rustin would not renounce Johnson and therefore would not demand an immediate end to the Vietnam War, in a break from his pacifist past. Throughout his life, Rustin maintained close ties to the Jewish community and supported Israel's right to exist, eventually calling for US arms support for Israel. In