Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987): A Reader

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987):

Bayard Rustin was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on March 17, 1912. He moved to New York in the 1930s and was involved in pacifist groups and early civil rights protests. Combining non-violent resistance with organizational skills, he was a key adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. Though he was arrested several times for his own civil disobedience and open homosexuality, he continued to fight for equality. He died in New York City on August 24, 1987.

“The First Freedom Ride:” Bayard Rustin On His Work With CORE

FBI Records: Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin: Who Is This Man?

Obama Awards Bayard Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Peter Dreier

Demands of the March on Washington

Bayard Rustin, organizer of the March on Washington, was crucial to the movement, Steve Hendrix

Bayard Rustin: the gay black pacifist at the heart of the March on Washington, Gary Younge

Bayard Rustin: The Man Homophobia Almost Erased From History, Steven Thrasher

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

Who Designed the March on Washington?, Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Bayard Rustin: Martin Luther King’s Views on Gay People

A violent path traveled by a nonviolent man

Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony

President Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom to 16 people. The 2013 recipients were women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem; former President Bill Clinton; talk show host and actress Oprah Winfrey; the late astronaut Sally Ride; for Chicago Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks; former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee; the late Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI); country music star Loretta Lynn; former Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN); cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman; chemist and environmental scientist Mario Molina; the late civil rights activist Bayard Rustin; jazz musician Arturo Sandoval; basketball coach Dean Smith; civil rights leader Cordy Tindell “C.T.” Vivian; and appellate judge Patricia Wald.