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Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics
Celebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 26, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 14, 2023
I had a sort of vague background knowledge about Bayard Rustin, but what really pushed him to the front of my consciousness was Rasheed Newson's depiction of Rustin in My Government Means to Kills Me (one of the best books of 2022 that didn't get the attention it deserved—if you want to stop reading this review right now and switch over to that book, you're welcome to; I'm no match for Rasheed Newson). In that book, Rustin played the role of an informal mentor to a young, gay Black man who'd recently moved to New York City and was coming to his own political awakening; they'd meet up in the snack/storage room at the back of the only Black bathhouse in town and share long conversations that were both pointed and rambling.
I was incredibly excited to see this collection of essays bring published. With multiple essays by multiple authors, I was looking forward to a mix of approaches to Rustin and his work. Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics does offer some interesting portraits of Ruskin, but I have two caveats regarding it. First is that these essays all lean toward the hagiographic. Yes Rustin merits some hagiography, but Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics doesn't provide the kind of research, analysis, and critique I was looking for. Second, the essays contain far too much repetition: Rustin did X in year Y, did V in year W, did T in year U, and so on. Being given a timeline is helpful, but not when one gets what is essentially the same timeline over and over again in each essay.
This book can provide an adequate introduction to the life and work of Rustin, but if you really want to dig into his thinking, ethics, and political strategies, you'll want to look elsewhere. That's the point I'm currently at: looking for full-length works about Rustin's life packed with details and analysis. If I come across a particularly good one, I'll no doubt be posting a review on GoodReads.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from NYU Press via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
I was incredibly excited to see this collection of essays bring published. With multiple essays by multiple authors, I was looking forward to a mix of approaches to Rustin and his work. Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics does offer some interesting portraits of Ruskin, but I have two caveats regarding it. First is that these essays all lean toward the hagiographic. Yes Rustin merits some hagiography, but Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics doesn't provide the kind of research, analysis, and critique I was looking for. Second, the essays contain far too much repetition: Rustin did X in year Y, did V in year W, did T in year U, and so on. Being given a timeline is helpful, but not when one gets what is essentially the same timeline over and over again in each essay.
This book can provide an adequate introduction to the life and work of Rustin, but if you really want to dig into his thinking, ethics, and political strategies, you'll want to look elsewhere. That's the point I'm currently at: looking for full-length works about Rustin's life packed with details and analysis. If I come across a particularly good one, I'll no doubt be posting a review on GoodReads.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from NYU Press via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
September 26, 2023
This was a great introduction to Bayard Rustin, his politics and beliefs.
Some of the essays were a bit repetitive, but all were well written. I will definitely dig deeper to learn more about the man behind the movement!
Some of the essays were a bit repetitive, but all were well written. I will definitely dig deeper to learn more about the man behind the movement!
January 19, 2024
This book offers a wonderfully rounded vignette of Bayard Rustin’s life and legacy. Instead of a biography, these essays shed light on the multi-faceted impact he made in politics and civil rights. His peacemaking activism was far more intersectional and broader than I was aware of. It also finishes with beautiful reflections in the “What Rustin Means To Me” conclusion - including a former student of Bayard Rustin High School in West Chester, PA (where I live).
One recommendation I would make is to read this book slowly. I read it somewhat fast, but many of the essays repeat some aspects of his life. Taking an essay every week or two weeks would allow you to really sit with the fullness of his life, who he was, and is impact on social movements and leaders.
Highly recommend this book on a person whose life and legacy is finally getting the attention it deserves.
One recommendation I would make is to read this book slowly. I read it somewhat fast, but many of the essays repeat some aspects of his life. Taking an essay every week or two weeks would allow you to really sit with the fullness of his life, who he was, and is impact on social movements and leaders.
Highly recommend this book on a person whose life and legacy is finally getting the attention it deserves.
September 25, 2024
I really wanted to like this book. My biggest issue is to me it seems very repetitive, there were several times that I thought the audiobook had downloaded incorrectly. The other issue is that it seems to be a collection of individual accounts of specific events, most occurring during the same time. While each account is interesting on it's own , in this collection it makes it hard to follow. This is not a point A to point b storytelling.
March 17, 2025
3.5
Very informative but the format (multiple essays on Rustin by different people) makes it so that it's quite repetitive at times.
Very informative but the format (multiple essays on Rustin by different people) makes it so that it's quite repetitive at times.
December 4, 2025
History can not be allowed to erase these voices. I am grateful for the recent attention to Bayard Rustin as a leading voice for equality.
September 14, 2023
This book is a powerful and very well-done collection of essays by multiple contributors that reveal the many personal and political lives of Bayard Rustin. This is both a celebration of his life and legacy and a critical examination of some of his political viewpoints. Yet some of his limited views are due to context of the time in which he grew up - for example, not addressing intersectionality, turning away from protesting the Vietnam War (even though he refused to serve previously and served prison time for it.) and inherent sexism. But he was a long time pacifist who believed in non-violence for resistance. Even though he played a very influential role in civil rights (from architecting the March on Washington with A. Philip Randolph) and consulting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was arrested, imprisoned, threatened, and fired from leadership positions largely because he was an openly gay man. This book has a brilliant forward by Clayborne Carson, is extremely well edited by Michael C. Long. The essays are divided into three impactful sections -- Part 1 is on Protests, Politics and Partners. Here we learn about his grandmother as well as A. Philip Randolph, Ella Baker (another unsung hero), MLK Jr., Stokley Carmichael and Malcom X. Part 2 is on Resistance, Reform and Reconciliation, Part 3 is about "What Rustin Means to Me" - and these essays bring forward his legacy and how it is making a difference today. I loved all the sections and this last one was particularly moving to me. I am so glad that not only is Bayard Rustin finally getting his due, we also get to hear from great writers in this collection about what his impact has been in the history of civil rights as well as to them personally. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and NYU Press for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Netgalley and NYU Press for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.
October 17, 2023
Description
Celebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard Rustin: a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
Review
Broken up into three parts, this book of essays lays out the history and influence of Bayard Rustin. I finished this book with a greater understanding of Rustin. That said, I wish that some of his writings that were mentioned in the book were included in this book: not everyone who has access to this book will have access to those writings. Further, some of the essays were a tad repetitive, but it did increase the impact of Rustin to others.
Celebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard Rustin: a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
Review
Broken up into three parts, this book of essays lays out the history and influence of Bayard Rustin. I finished this book with a greater understanding of Rustin. That said, I wish that some of his writings that were mentioned in the book were included in this book: not everyone who has access to this book will have access to those writings. Further, some of the essays were a tad repetitive, but it did increase the impact of Rustin to others.
November 9, 2024
In the introduction to this collection of essays focused on Bayard Rustin's life and work, the editor indicates that the book is not intended to function as a hagiography. When all is said and done, though, it sort of does. And that is not a bad thing, as certain Amerikkkan political forces are working harder than ever to erase the contributions of those not white, male, & straight to the overall fabric of our fraying democracy.
There are reasons Rustin's importance and legacy continue to grow with each passing year. Read this (or his own collection, 'Time on Two Crosses') to discover why.
There are reasons Rustin's importance and legacy continue to grow with each passing year. Read this (or his own collection, 'Time on Two Crosses') to discover why.
February 12, 2024
Rather than present another biography, Long offers an anthology of writings about Bayard that cement his legacy by sharing the ensuring impact of his life and work. This approach worked well - it is a captivating and compelling collection of essays on Bayard’s life and legacy!
November 19, 2023
Real Rating: 3.5* of five
The Publisher Says: Celebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Too long ignored for being queer and open about it, the life of a Quaker resistor of Wrong and Wickedness was a complicated one. I wish this collection of essays had been edited to reduce the repetition of basic information about him, but appreciate that it was done at all.
I imagine the experience of being friends with Bayard Rustin was pretty fraught...his stadards were very high and his judgments usually spot-on, which combination is uncomfortable for himself and others. This reality played itself out in his double invisibility in gay-rights circles: Blackness and religious belief. He felt he wasn't needed or wanted in that world so, until he fell in love with Walter Naegle at 65, he focused on Black liberation and didn't involve himself in gay rights. The sad part to me is that the man was ahead of his time in his politics, his morals, and his social beliefs, and still deeply internalized both homophobia and misogyny.
If you're utterly unfamiliar with Rustin, this collection of essays will fill you in. Read the way any collection should be, piece by piece over time, the cumulative effect is to bring an unjustly underknown man's contributions to the best things that happened in the era of Civil Rights expansion to light. He is, be aware, not critically examined in these essays. Part three of the collection, "What Rustin Means to Me," is probably my favorite to read because the legacy of this upright, intelligent, unsparing actor on the public stage is dealt with by those whom he has inspired. I suppose anyone who stood up for an unpopular belief because it was right to do so can't hope for a better legacy.
The Publisher Says: Celebrates the life and legacy of Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader behind the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
While we can all recall images of Martin Luther King Jr. giving his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a massive crowd at Lincoln Memorial, few of us remember the man who organized this watershed nonviolent protest in eight short weeks: Bayard Rustin.
This was far from Rustin’s first foray into the fight for civil rights. As a world-traveling pacifist, he brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the forefront of US civil rights demonstrations, helped build the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the fight for economic justice, and played a deeply influential role in the life of Dr. King by helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolent resistance. Rustin’s legacy touches many areas of contemporary life—from civil resistance to violent uprisings, democracy to socialism, and criminal justice reform to war resistance.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was often relegated to the background. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. With expansive, searching, and sometimes critical essays from a range of esteemed writers—including Rustin’s own partner, Walter Naegle—this volume draws a full picture of Bayard a gay, pacifist, socialist political radical who changed the course of US history and set a precedent for future civil rights activism, from LGBTQ+ Pride to Black Lives Matter.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.
My Review: Too long ignored for being queer and open about it, the life of a Quaker resistor of Wrong and Wickedness was a complicated one. I wish this collection of essays had been edited to reduce the repetition of basic information about him, but appreciate that it was done at all.
I imagine the experience of being friends with Bayard Rustin was pretty fraught...his stadards were very high and his judgments usually spot-on, which combination is uncomfortable for himself and others. This reality played itself out in his double invisibility in gay-rights circles: Blackness and religious belief. He felt he wasn't needed or wanted in that world so, until he fell in love with Walter Naegle at 65, he focused on Black liberation and didn't involve himself in gay rights. The sad part to me is that the man was ahead of his time in his politics, his morals, and his social beliefs, and still deeply internalized both homophobia and misogyny.
If you're utterly unfamiliar with Rustin, this collection of essays will fill you in. Read the way any collection should be, piece by piece over time, the cumulative effect is to bring an unjustly underknown man's contributions to the best things that happened in the era of Civil Rights expansion to light. He is, be aware, not critically examined in these essays. Part three of the collection, "What Rustin Means to Me," is probably my favorite to read because the legacy of this upright, intelligent, unsparing actor on the public stage is dealt with by those whom he has inspired. I suppose anyone who stood up for an unpopular belief because it was right to do so can't hope for a better legacy.
June 29, 2024
Getting a chance to explore other lgbtq politicians histories especially bipoc ones was a great read and this hopefully opens the door for more history nonfiction about lgbtq politician.
October 2, 2023
This would be an amazing book to add to a classroom as a resource! As someone with no previous background knowledge, this book about Bayard Rustin, edited by Michael G. Long, is a great introduction to the person, his politics, and his beliefs. In these pages, I got to meet a man who was threatened, arrested, imprisoned, and even fired from positions due to being an openly gay man. Through all of the turmoil, he still believed the best path for resistance was non-violence. Talk about rising above!
I really enjoyed getting to know one of the two men who organized the March on Washington, and how much he contributed to the civil rights movement throughout his life. It’s a powerful read and this collection of essays from multiple contributors reveal the life of Rustin. Without giving too much away, this collection is in three parts: Protests, Politics and Partners; Resistance, Reform and Reconciliation; and "What Rustin Means to Me”. I was moved after reading this book and have been recommending it since the first essay.
I really enjoyed getting to know one of the two men who organized the March on Washington, and how much he contributed to the civil rights movement throughout his life. It’s a powerful read and this collection of essays from multiple contributors reveal the life of Rustin. Without giving too much away, this collection is in three parts: Protests, Politics and Partners; Resistance, Reform and Reconciliation; and "What Rustin Means to Me”. I was moved after reading this book and have been recommending it since the first essay.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews