Bayard Rustin was a unique twentieth-century American radical
voice. A homosexual, World War II draft resister, and ex-communist,
he made enormous contributions to the civil rights, socialist,
labor, peace, and gay rights movements in the United States,
despite being viewed as an "outsider" even by fellow activists.
Rustin was a humanist who championed the disadvantaged and
oppressed, regardless of identity. In Bayard Rustin: American
Dreamer, Jerald Podair examines the life and career of a man who
shaped virtually every aspect of the modern civil rights movement
as a theorist, strategist, and spokesman. Podair begins by covering
the period from Rustin's 1912 birth in West Chester, Pennsylvania,
to his 1946 release from federal prison, where he served over two
years for draft evasion. After his release, Rustin threw himself
into work on behalf of pacifism and racial integration, two goals
that, at this stage of his career, fit together almost seamlessly.
Podair goes on to examine Rustin's role as the main organizer of
the 1963 March on Washington, the most important civil rights
demonstration in American history. He was a major influence on
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s philosophy of nonviolent direct action,
which led to the strategy that changed the course of American race
relations. During the last years of his life, Rustin continued to
champion the causes of socialism, coalition politics, and racial
integration, as he also sought to aid oppressed people and foster
democratic institutions worldwide. Yet for all this, Rustin was
rarely permitted a leading role in the movements he helped to
shape. Because of his sexuality and his background as a former
communist and draft resister, he was forced to do much of his work
on the fringes, offering his organizational, strategic, and
rhetorical skills to public leaders who chose to keep him at arm's
length. Despite this, as Podair makes clear, Bayard Rustin was one
of the most important civil rights leaders and one of the most
important radical leaders in twentieth-century American history.
Documents in this book include excerpts from Rustin's writings,
speeches, and public statements."
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