Bayard Rustin Civil Rights Contributions Research Paper

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Rustin, Bayard (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987), was a Quaker, a Civil Rights activist, a Martin Luther Junior associate, and a proponent for lesbian and gay rights. Bayard was born near Philadelphia in the West Chester area. He was raised by a Quaker grandmother and later became a prominent Quaker himself in the year 1936. After becoming a Quaker, he moved to New York, where he lived most of his life ("Bayard Rustin," n.d.). Rustin Bayard was particularly known for being a pacifist. He was one of the fiercest proponents of non-resistance in the Civil Rights Movement. He drew his inspiration from Gandhi's struggle against the British in India.

While he was a college student in the thirties, Rustin signed up to become a YCL (Young Communist League). Rustin believed the YCL was committed to fighting for racial equality and justice in the United States. While this was the case, the YCL shifted its focus away from racial justice activities in the early forties.

This led to Rustin leaving the organization. After leaving the party, Rustin was appointed by Philip Randolph to lead the youth on the March on Washington in 1941. Philip Randolph was a renowned trade union activist and leader. After the appointment, Rustin went on and co-founded CORE (Congress of Racial Inequality). He also joined FOR (Fellowship of Reconciliation). For many weeks and months in the early forties, Rustin organized workshops and campaigns for both CORE and FOR.

He was particularly known for pushing the non-violent direct action (King Institute, n.d.). He opposed America's participation in the Second World War. He was a conscientious objector. Therefore, he was imprisoned for about two years. He also objected to the segregation of races in the United States Military. When Americans of Japanese origin were interned during the War, he joined an organization – American Friends Service Committee – to protect their property.

Despite being a conscientious objector, Rustin was jailed during the War for his lack of cooperation when drafted ("Bayard Rustin," n.d.).  In prison, he protested against segregation, especially in its dining hall. He also organized protests against prison segregation.

In one letter he wrote to the warden, he noted that segregation is an injustice to him both practically and morally. He further notes that because he believed segregation is injustice, he is forced to remove it. Because if he does not remove it or if he tries to avoid it, it means he accepts it. Therefore, he noted that he must resist injustice, and he intended to do it non-violently.

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When the Second World War ended, Rustin joined the Journey of Reconciliation. This was a movement that traveled across the Southern States to protest segregation and injustice in inter-state transportation. For this, he and several other protestors were arrested multiple times on the journey. In the state of North Carolina, they were sentenced to 30 days. In 1947, he and other protestors were arrested in the Journey of Reconciliation.

This was a crucial test for United States Supreme Court rulings, which outlawed segregation in inter-state travel. He was, however, sentenced to prison and a chain gang. After his release, Rustin wrote a report on the chain gang in several publications and newspapers. This led to the practice being abandoned in many prisons.

In 1948, Rustin traveled to Indian. He stayed in the country for 7 weeks, during which he learned about Gandhi and his non-violence philosophy. A couple of years later, he flew to Africa. In Africa, he worked with multiple organizations fighting for independence across West Africa. CORE and FOR sponsored the Africa trip. While Rustin did a lot to advance racial equality and justice at FOR, the organization asked him to step down in 1953. This is after he was convicted on charges related to homosexuality, which was criminal at the time. However, the year that followed, he joined another organization by the name War Resisters League. He held this position until 1965.

In 1956, associates of Martin Luther King asked him to advise King on using non-violence resistance on the Montgomery public transport in Alabama. He subsequently visited Alabama and met with the Montgomery Improvement Association. He wrote about his experience in a diary which he called Montgomery Diary. In the diary, he noted that he felt that people who walked away from the town's public transport were a movement that he felt could not be stopped. That it was a movement that could inspire change among men and women (Rustin, 1956, 10).

In August of 1963, Bayard Rustin was one of the March's key organizers on Washington that happened that month. King's speech has immortalized the March 'I have a dream.' In the year 1968, he drafted an Economic Bill of Rights in which he asked for decent wages for all persons of color. Rustin was one of the key individuals behind forming the highly influential Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that played a key role in the American Civil Rights Movement.

He suggested that King create a group to unite….....

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