Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin

I just finished reading this book for my class on The Civil Rights Movement. I have say this book was very good. It gave me much insight into how the movement was more complex than what I was taught in grade school. If you're one of the people like I was who thought Dr. King was the total force behind the movement, you must read this book. You will become far more educated on how much of an impact this man was not only to the Civl Rights Movement, but other endeavors as well. It is sad how easily Rustin has been tossed aside because of prejudice of all things. But this is why it is important to have books like this one that educates and informs.

Rustin's story is a curious one -- how is it that a militant Quaker pacifist, a man who chose to go to prison during World War II, is found defending Lyndon Johnson's Presidency in 1968? The answer lies in the various tragedies of the '60's: the vestiges of the Cold War that shaped American policies; Johnson's ability to commit to progressive domestic policies but inability to shake free of the worst of the Cold War mentality; the triumphs and the tragic splintering of the American Civil Rights movement; and perhaps in Rustin's personal tragedy, that of a gay, black pacifist whose biggest political obstacle was not found in the radicalism of his ideas but in his attempt to live his personal life as a gay man. D'Emilo appears to capture all those elements of Rustin, and suggests both how Rustin shaped those political movements in which he involved himself and how they served to shape him. My students generally all are familiar with Dr. King's speech at the 1963 March on Washington. With few exceptions, however, they have never heard of the two men who planned the March: labor leader A.P. Randolph and Rustin. D'Emilo's book serves to remind us of just how much an injustice it is that Rustin's role in the Civil Rights movement has been so much forgotten.

Like many other people, I had not learned that 1963 March on Washington organizer Bayard Rustin was also homosexual. Because Rustin lived in a time when homosexuality was stigmatized (and march organizers had believed public recognition of his homosexuality was not 'respectable' Rustin had to keep this portion of his life hidden in order to have impact at this event. Rustin complied with the now-unthinkable directive because social justice had always been a passion. Rustin's Quaker upbringing influenced his passion for social justice. In college, he became an organizer for the Young Communist League; he later quit when they advocated World War II participation. Rustin's strong sense of morality would not allow him to enlist in World War II, he believed that a sentence in the federal prison system was the only moral option. Rustin began freedom riding with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) as early as the 1940's. Although these people were ahead of their time on many issues, they could not accept his sexuality. Rustin later found employment with the War Resisters League (which in that era at least stayed neutral on the issue) but the experience undoubtedly stayed with him. Fortunately, Rustin was able to later come out in the 1970's. Until his death he was open about his identity as a gay man. Discrimination was the problem, not his sexuality. Today, we continue to see inadvertent consequences from the earlier decision to minimize Rustin's identity as a gay man. The allegedly liberal mass media has largely persisted in portraying GLBT issues as universally white, and gave substantial airtime to Alveda King, a niece of the late Martin Luther King who denounces homosexuality. The mass media tellingly elects to ignore the public GLBT rights support of Jesse Jackson and Coretta Scott King, who recognize there are many more blacks like Rustin. We cannot work towards the world he had envisioned without acknowlleging his whole self.

An exhaustive biography of the often overlooked archtect of the civil rights movement. An espouser of Gandhian non-violence and a mentor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rustin was a man of fierce convictions, openly gay in a time when to be so jeopardized even his basic freedoms.D'Emilio records Rustin's life warts and all. He documents his numerous arrests for acts of civil disobedience, for being a conscientious objector, as well as on a morals charge.However, it is the triumphs that are most exhilerating to read about. The March on Washington, as one would expect, is a highlight. Finally, and definitively, the credit for coordinating this event is attributed to Rustin. In the face of extreme opposition from the likes of Strom Thurmond and J. Edgar Hoover, Rustin staged an event of epic porportion and historic significance.Rustin was one of the great unsung heroes of the last century. John D'Emilio's biography, with a cast of characters that reads like a who's who of the twentieth century, is a tribute to Rustin and a model of its kind.

A extraordinary account of an extraordinary life. "Lost Prophet" is an engrossing account of how Bayard Rustin became a master strategist for the civil rights movement, despite significant homophobia and a smear campaign by government agencies.For anyone seeking to making a difference, this inspirational biography by John D'emilio is a "must-read." It will renew your commitment to justice and equality for all, regardless of the obstacles.