14 Quotes & Sayings By Bayard Rustin

Bayard Rustin, the legendary leader of the Civil Rights Movement, was born in 1912 in South Carolina to parents who were sharecroppers. He grew up during the Great Depression, and his early life was marked by poverty, racial discrimination, and violence. He began working with African Americans at age 15, when he attended work release school for a few months after an altercation with the police. At 19 he became a full-time organizer for the National Negro Congress (NNC) and then joined the Communist Party during the early 1930s Read more

In 1941 he became head of the NNC's youth division and assumed leadership of all civil rights programs during World War II. He served as executive secretary of the NNC until its dissolution in 1950. He was arrested numerous times for violating laws against public advocacy during this period.

Later in life he was active in various peace organizations and took part in several international conferences on nonviolence. He died in 1987 at age 77.

1
The only way to reduce ugliness in the world is to reduce it in yourself, Bayard Rustin
2
You have to join every other movement for the freedom of people. Bayard Rustin
3
The principal factors which influenced my life are 1) nonviolent tactics 2) constitutional means 3) democratic procedures 4) respect for human personality 5) a belief that all people are one. Bayard Rustin
4
War is wrong. Conscription for war is inconsistent with freedom of conscience, which is not merely the right to believe but to act on the degree of truth that one receives, to follow a vocation which is God-inspired and God-directed. Bayard Rustin
5
I am a Quaker. And as everyone knows, Quakers, for 300 years, have, on conscientious ground, been against participating in war. I was sentenced to three years in federal prison because I could not religiously and conscientiously accept killing my fellow man. Bayard Rustin
6
I have seen periods of progress followed by reaction. I have seen the hopes and aspirations of Negroes rise during World War II, only to be smashed during the Eisenhower years. I am seeing the victories of the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations destroyed by Richard Nixon. Bayard Rustin
7
To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true. Bayard Rustin
8
The Journey of Reconciliation was organized not only to devise techniques for eliminating Jim Crow in travel, but also as a training ground for similar peaceful projects against discrimination in such major areas as employment and in the armed services. Bayard Rustin
9
The barometer for judging the character of people, in regard human rights, is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, lesbian. The judgment as to whether you can trust the future, the social advancement - depending on people - will be judged on where they come out on that question. Bayard Rustin
10
We demand that segregation be ended in every school district in the year 1963! We demand that we have effective civil rights legislation - no compromise, no filibuster - and that include public accommodations, decent housing, integrated education, FEPC and the right to vote. Bayard Rustin
11
If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end. Bayard Rustin
12
If we desire a society in which men are brothers, then we must act towards one another with brotherhood. If we can build such a society, then we would have achieved the ultimate goal of human freedom. Bayard Rustin
13
When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him. Bayard Rustin