When people think of the March on Washington, the first person who comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But volunteers of the historical event also attribute the success of that day to Bayard Rustin – a.k.a. “Mr. March on Washington.” Bayard Rustin was the lead organizer of the August 28th march and is known as the only civil rights activist to pull together an event of such magnitude.
Bayard Rustin was a Pennsylvania native who was raised by a Quaker grandmother. An activist since he was a teen, Rustin had worked as a nightclub singer in Harlem, became part of a communist youth group and served jailed time in WWII for resistance. Rustin had been sent to prison more than two dozen times for protesting.
It was Rustin who booked the buses, scheduled speech times & planned menus for the march. But none of that would prove to be impossible for a black man who was openly gay in 1963. Ten years prior, he had been arrested for engaging with men in a parked car in California, which was illegal. His sexuality was an issue for others around him. In 1960, Adam Clayton Powell was said to have threatened to start a rumor that King was one of Rustin’s lovers if he didn’t expel him from the circle of activists.
Among the planning tasks of the march was controlling law enforcement. It was Rustin who interviewed each officer to ensure a non-violent response in case of resistance. The volunteers had a 12-page manual made by Rustin to ensure a smooth operation.
Bayard Rustin helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the SCLC and led Dr. King to his affiliation with Ghandi. Rustin died in 1987. Next spring, a book of his letters will be published.
