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Almost Forgotten From History Bayard Rustin once said, “The proof that one truly believes is in action” (I Must Resist 124) This quote means that if somebody really believes in something, then the person would go out and do something for it. This quote could explain how Rustin believed in something which was ending segregation of African-Americans and gay/lesbian Americans. Bayard Rustin fought for what he believed in and what he thought was right. Bayard Rustin was born March 17, 1912. An influence for his activism was in his early life when he sat in a “white only” theater, because of that he got arrested. Another thing that could be the reason for his activism is when he engaged in public sex. He was arrested for this, and he was also discriminated because he was an openly gay man “In 1953, Rustin was jailed in Pasadena on a morals charge: He had been found having sex with another man in a car” (PBS). After all of those experiences, he realized that he needed to do something about this. When he noticed the discrimination, he later met up with A. Philip Randolph. He proposed lots of marches to take place in Washington DC, so they could protest segregation in the armed forces. The movement he was most famous for was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Since Rustin and Phillip have experienced a lot together, Phillip appointed Rustin to be the co-director of the march, and he was the one who organized the march. This movement impacted the world because there were many speeches given that day including Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream”
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speech. There was also another speech from the sponsors of the march according to the MANUAL NO. 2. MARCH ON WASHINGTON. FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM. The first demand was, “guarantee all Americans access to all public accommodations, decent housing, adequate and integrated education, the right to vote”. All of these demands were presented to Congress by meeting with the president and the leaders of both political parties. The principle from Gandhi that Rustin Shows is Sarvodaya. Sarvodaya means the uplift of all and not excluding anything at all. Rustin implements this principle because he wants everyone to come together to fight for equal rights, and he did it in a non violent way. This principle is effective because it brings everything together. That’s what made Congress go through with the demands because they saw how many people followed these leaders. The leaders are the ones who represented the people and are the ones who spoke to congress which made them change the laws. Rustin was also a Satyagraha because he believed in pacifism and equality and was arrested for this, “ Tireless in his quest for pacifism and equality, he was arrested again and again for civil disobedience” (PBS). With all of these protests, there are methods that he used which are called Sharp’s methods. These methods were created by Gene Sharp and they are 198 ways to form a nonviolent protest. Sharp’s methods that were utilized were public speeches, banners, posters, assemblies of protest or support, marches. These methods were chosen because they were a good nonviolent approach. The marches and posters were efficient because they got lots of people who believe in the same thing together. These
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methods worked because they promoted nonviolence, and freedom of speech. These methods are also civil and won’t cause other problems. After the March on Washington, Rustin stated, “don’t be fooled by the mass circulation magazines into believing that the success can be credited to one person, or even to a few. The real credit goes to thousands of unknown people throughout the country who gave their time and energy” (Rustin 272). This work is important because it really shows how people can make a change that is big or small in their communities by working together. This work was effective because of the nonviolent nature of the protests and marches. This work could be taken to a greater extent by expanding to other countries. This is a good idea because there are countries that need change in their laws and they are unfair that need change, and that change can come from the whole community coming together.
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WORKS CITED “Brother Outsider — About Bayard Rustin.” Rustin.Org, 1 Jan. 2018, http://rustin.org/?page_id=2. Accessed 21 Dec. 2018. Rustin, Bayard. I Must Resist: Bayard Rustin’s Life in Letters, Editor: Michael G. Long Published: March 20th 2012 “Bayard Rustin | AFL-CIO.” Aflcio.Org, 1 Jan. 2000, https://aflcio.org/about/history/labor-history-people/bayard-rustin. Accessed 21 Dec. 2018. ORGANIZING MANUAL NO. 2 Final Plans for the MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR JOBS AND FREEDOM. 1963. “Out Of The Past.” Pbs.Org, 2018, https://www.pbs.org/outofthepast/past/p4/rustin.html. Accessed 21 Dec. 2018. “198 Methods of Nonviolent Action.” Albert Einstein Institution, 23 Sept. 2015, https://www.aeinstein.org/nonviolentaction/198-methods-of-nonviolent-action/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2018.