Collected writings of the extraordinary civil rights and gay rights activist. Includes "Twenty two Days on a Chain Gain," "Nonviolence vs. Jim Crow" and many other essays.
More than a half-century past the height of the Civil Rights Movement, America still faces many of the same racial disparities we did then. Replace the preferred-at-the-time term "Negro" with "African American" and change the references to civil rights leaders to the past tense, and it is disconcerting how many of these essays could have been written today. Rustin, a contemporary and associate of Martin Luther King, Jr. and an organizer of the March on Washington, was an interesting sport among movement leaders as a Quaker and a gay man. But his commitment to the movement was undeniable, and his assessment and analysis of the state of race relations in America and the way forward for Black Americans in these pieces dating from the 1940s through 1970 is unvaryingly incisive. And reading them in America in mid-2020, when protests against police brutality toward people of color have been sparked by the death of George Floyd, and the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected communities of color, will both remind you that not much has changed and provide some thoughtful ideas about where we might go from here.
I have been curious to read something by Bayard Rustin after seeing the documentary BROTHER OUTSIDER which was inspiring and my first introduction to Mr. Rustin and his Civil Rights work.
I was completely enthralled and inspired by Rustin's commitment to equality, dignity, nonviolence, and love within the tense political struggle for Civil Rights for African-Americans and all people from the 1940s-1971. This book is a compilation of his writings and speeches and in each he hammers on the point that political coalitions of blacks, labor unions, and white progressives devoted to non-violence is the best and most successful way to improve the circumstances of poor African-Americans.
He brings his depth of experience from being a leader in the movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to change Southern and Federal laws that discriminate against blacks, such as ending segregation. Additionally, he illuminates the psychological and social damage and pain that segregation combined with little opportunity in Black Ghettos caused. The resulting Black Nationalism and Militancy, in the last 60s, Rustin found to be unproductive because it led to further segregation. He always encouraged those who are concerned for African-Americans to get behind causes that protect wealth and opportunity for the poor, such as government programs and labor unions. He recognized that Black Militancy only contributed to further justification for repression by the White power structure and therefore was not productive.
Sadly, after reading this it appears to me that progress to increase the wealth and opportunity of poor African-Americans and any other poor marginalized group has been too slow. The last big change was the legal Civil Rights movement in the 1960s since then, there has been little done to bolster school systems in poor areas, develop enough entry level jobs for all, unions have diminished, and increased repression is clear by the fact that there seems to be more interest in policing and imprisoning Blacks than teaching Black students. Many of the essays and speeches Rustin wrote after the end of legal segregation seem just as relevant now.
Bayard Rustin's level-headed approach, Gandhian principles, compassion for the oppressor, and sustained push for equal rights is incredibly inspirational and wise.
My Favorite essays: "Twenty two Days on a Chain Gang" "The Mind of the Black Militant" "The Anatomy of Frustration" "Soul Searching vs. Social Change" "Fear,Demagogues, and Reaction" "The Failure of Black Separatism"