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Overview
Bayard Rustin was one of the most complex and interesting of the black intellectuals during a period of dramatic change in America. He is perhaps best known as the organizer of the 1963 march on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his memorable 'I Have a Dream' speech. Although Rustin headed no civil rights organization, during most of his career he was a moral and tactical spokesman for them all. Committed to the Gandhian principle of non-violence, he was the movement's ablest strategist and an indispensable intellectual resource for such major black leaders as Dr. King, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, Dorothy Height and James Farmer. Rustin not only helped to organize the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 - 56 but also drew up the original plan for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the organization that spearheaded King's nonviolent crusade. In this landmark biography, historian and biographer Jervis Anderson gives a full account of the life of this inspiring figure. With complete access to Rustin's papers and the cooperation of Rustin's friends and colleagues, Anderson has written an enriching and insightful book on the life of one of the most important heroes of the movements for civil rights and social reform.Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
As organizer of the 1963 March on Washington and the Montgomery bus boycott and architect of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Rustin has had immeasurable influence on American culture. Written with complete access to Rustin's personal papers, this biography delves into the character of this influential man. Includes photos.Chicago Tribune
A warm and accessible portrait, enriched by memorable stories of a colorful and contradictory man who loved life. . . .A must-read for anyone interested in the struggle for social justice in America in the 20th century.Kirkus Reviews
A vividly rendered life of a critical figure in the African- American struggle for civil rights. Bayard Rustin, writes .New Yorker staff writer Anderson (This Was Harlem), was a man of sometimes contradictory parts—so much so that at his funeral service a friend described Rustin as 'a Quaker without an ounce of goodyness; an ex-communist without a trace of vindictiveness; a Gandhian without one trace of holiness; an ex-con without one trace of self-pity or self-dramatization; a passionate advocate of civil rights who wasted little time brooding about racism.' He was also an intellectual of complex, learned tastes, a collector of art and textiles, a skilled interpreter of Bach and Donizetti, a champion of Alvin Ailey's dance company, and a fine athlete. Drawing on interviews with dozens of Rustin's acquaintances and colleagues, Anderson recounts the activist's contributions to African-American culture and to the work of organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Congress for Racial Equality. Jailed for 28 months for refusing conscription during WW II, Rustin was also an early disciple of Gandhi, and it was he who made the Indian pacifist's ideas an important part of Dr. Martin Luther King's program. Those ideas were lost in the militancy of the late 1960s and early '70s, Anderson writes, and Rustin's role in the movement was diminished. Anderson carefully examines Rustin's many contributions to the civil-rights movement, noting that 'no important black figure of his generation responded to as many causes in which the values of democracy and fair play were at stake.' Although he never achieved prominence as a leader in these causes, andindeed was marginalized in many of them, Rustin was, Anderson maintains, of inestimable importance in making them known. This well-written biography is a fitting tribute to a great civil libertarian.Book Details
Published
February 1, 1997
Publisher
New York : HarperCollinsPublishers, c1997.
Pages
432
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780060167028