Bayard Rustin Pacifism

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Bayard Rustin was a nonviolent activist who advocated for societal change during his life that spanned over 75 years from 1912 until 1987. While history primarily knows Rustin as a leader in the African American civil rights movement, Rustin was prominently involved in pacifist movements against war and militarization. While he took many roles throughout his 75 year life, history best know him as the chief organizer for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom––one of the largest protests and most important protests in United States history. But his legacy goes far beyond organizing one event: Rustin brought a heightened sense of pacifism to the civil rights movement. Through enacting his Quaker values, Rustin infused his pacifism into the American civil rights movement, advising Martin Luther King, Jr. to became a promoter and symbol of peace and nonviolence that he is known as today. Rustin’s accomplishments were not without opposition: he was persecuted, threatened, beaten, imprisoned and silenced by a wide range of people, from segregationists to black militants. Rustin’s openly gay identity caused much hardship during an era that was extraordinarily homophobic, but he chose to not live in “the closet” and hide who we was, and rather, he embraced his homosexuality. Rustin’s pacifism and acceptance of his gay identity was rooted in his Quaker roots. Rustin found motivation and strength within his Quaker upbringing, motivating him to be an out-and-proud gay man of color, rallying for social change on all fronts until his death. This paper analyses Rustin’s upbringing in relation to his Quaker values and how his life-long conviction to promote pacifism and egalitarianism shaped his views and actions, and the outcome of...

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Rustin’s Quaker values and his arrest for engaging in homosexuality in Pasadena would have a major impact on the civil rights movement and in particular, the work of King. Throughout his entire live Quakerism was a unifying force and a strong pillar in his personal and professional ventures. Rustin incorporated Quaker beliefs and values that were central to many of the success of the civil rights movement. Through enacting his Quaker values, Rustin infused his pacifism into the American civil rights movement, shaping the movement to become peaceful and nonviolent. This paper has investigated Rustin’s early years in life in relation to his Quaker values and how his life-long conviction to promote pacifism and egalitarianism shaped his views and actions. Through Bayard Rustin we can better discern the role religious values and ideals play in shaping who we are.

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