Bayard Rustin was a close advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and one of the most influential and effective organizers of the civil rights movement. Affectionately referred to as "Mr. March" by A. Philip Randolph, Rustin organized and led a number of protests in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, including the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Born on 17 March 1910, Rustin was one of twelve children raised by his grandparents in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Rustin's life-long commitment to nonviolence began with his Quaker upbringing and the influence of his grandmother, a member of the Society of Friends and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). After graduating from West Chester High School, Rustin studied intermittently at Wilberforce University, Cheyney State Teachers College, and City College of New York.
In 1941, Rustin joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and co-founded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Rustin organized campaigns and led workshops on nonviolent direct-action for both organizations. In 1947, he was arrested with other participants of FOR's "Journey of Reconciliation," a test of the Supreme Court rulings barring segregation in interstate travel (which would provide a model for the " Freedom Rides" of 1961). Following his release, Rustin went to India for six months to study the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence and then to Africa, where he worked in various African independence movements. Despite his successful tenure with FOR, Rustin was asked to resign from the organization in 1953 after his arrest and conviction on charges related to homosexual activity.
While Rustin became a key advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, his brief association with the Communist Party and his previous arrest marked him as a potential liability in the eyes of some members of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). King recognized the advantages of Rustin's knowledge, contacts, and organizational abilities, and invited him to continue, albeit behind the scenes. As King's special assistant, Rustin assumed a variety of roles, including proofreader, ghostwriter, philosophy teacher, and nonviolent strategist. Between 1955 and 1960, Rustin influenced King's growing commitment to nonviolence. He also played a key role in the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957.
In 1963, A. Philip Randolph began organizing the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Though King and Randolph pushed for Rustin to direct the march's organization, Roy Wilkins, among others, argued that his previous communist affiliation and arrests made Rustin an easy target for conservative leaders and the press. As a compromise, Randolph was chosen as the march's official director, and he in turn appointed Rustin his working deputy. In less than sixty days, Rustin guided the organization of an event that would bring over 200,000 participants to the nation's capital.
From 1963 until 1979, Rustin served as president and later as co-chair of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization of black trade unionists. From this position, Rustin promoted his view that future progress for African Americans rested on alliances between blacks, liberals, labor, and religious groups. Rustin opposed activities that he thought would undermine this coalition strategy, including King's Poor People's Campaign.