You all know Martin Luther King Jr, but do you know the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington? His name was Bayard Rustin, and one of the reasons history has overlooked him is that he was openly gay. Rustin was an extremely intelligent organizer and strategist who helped mold Dr. King into an image of peace and nonviolence. In 1956, Bayard Rustin arrived in Montgomery to help with the infamous bus boycott, and at this time, Dr. Martin Luther King had not yet embraced nonviolence. In fact, he had guns in his house and armed guards at his door. Rustin, inspired by Ghandi, persuaded the boycott leaders to adopt nonviolence to gain civil rights.

Not only was Rustin openly gay, but he associated with the Communist party, which caused many people to question Dr. King’s relationship with him. But MLK recognized Rustin’s skills and dedication to the movement. In a 1960 letter, King told a colleague: “We are thoroughly committed to the method of nonviolence in our struggle and we are convinced that Bayard’s expertness and commitment in this area will be of inestimable value.”

During his upbringing, Rustin would often meet with influential leaders such as W.E.B DuBois, as his grandmother was a part of the NAACP. While in college, he joined the Young Communist Club because they had a dedication towards fighting for racial justice, but when they shifted their focus away from Civil Rights, he left the group. Shortly after, he was appointed a youth organizer for the 1941 March on Washington under A. Philip Randolph. He also organized campaigns and ran nonviolent direct action for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which he had co-founded. During World War II he spent more than two years in prison as a conscientious objector (someone who claimed the right to refuse military service). In 1947 Rustin was arrested with other members of CORE’s Journey of Reconciliation, which was a test of the Supreme Court rulings barring segregation in interstate travel that provided a model for the Freedom Rides of 1961. After spending 22 brutal days on a North Carolina chain gang, Rustin published a report in several newspapers that led to reform of the practice of prison chain gangs.

Again, I cannot do Bayard Rustin justice in my summary and highly recommend that you do your own research on him! There is a documentary about him on YouTube called “Brother Outsider” that I would recommend.

NOTE: This article is part of a series celebrating unsung African American heroes. Click here to read about the series and check out the other articles.