Black Lives Matter at School / Year of Purpose

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Continuing with our commitment to the Black Lives Matter at School movement and the Year of Purpose, we turn our attention this month to the principle of Queer Affirming as we lift up an instrumental figure and unsung hero of the Civil Rights movement who often worked behind the scenes: Bayard Rustin.

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“If I do not fight bigotry wherever it is, bigotry is therefore strengthened. And to the degree it is strengthened, it will thereby have the power to turn on me.” - Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin was an important civil rights leader and activist who organized some of the most famous and impactful demonstrations in the mid 20th century. An advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he helped to start many Civil Rights organizations and was an influential writer. He often remained in the background in large part because he was a gay man as well as having an early affiliation with the communist political party. With a Quaker background, Rustin was heavily influenced by Quaker principles of social justice and was inspired by the ideas of non-violence taught by Ghandi. He fought for gay rights later in his life.

  • 13 years before Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white rider, Rustin was arrested for sitting in the front section of a bus. He was later involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, sparked by Rosa Parks’ actions.

  • Rustin was a co-organizer of the Journey of Reconciliation in 1947, the original Freedom Ride to protest racism in interstate travel.

  • Rustin organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 to protest racial and economic discrimination. Dr. King gave his “I have a dream” speech at this event.

  • Rustin organized the New York City school boycott, protesting segregation in the district and urging integration, attended by 400,000 New Yorkers in 1964.

  • He died in 1987 at the age of 75.

 
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