“Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics” isn’t an ordinary biography about civil rights icon Bayard Rustin, who began his social justice career in earnest at the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Instead, this book is filled with reflections on Rustin’s life, snapshots through various lenses.
Prolific editor and writer Michael G. Long brings together the contributions of more than 20 scholars, activists, and friends, including FOR Executive Director Ariel Gold and Rustin’s partner, Walter Naegle. Their essays create a literary tapestry of Rustin’s life, work, and enduring legacy.
These multiple perspectives on Rustin’s life and times make this book very strong. There’s no unified agenda here, since the book doesn’t provide one narrative. Each contributor gives a nuanced take on Rustin’s approach to activism, nonviolence philosophy, and confronting struggles. They all reflect on the relationships that shaped him in so many ways.
Although Rustin was a civil rights eminence, he was also human. These essays forced this Black and openly gay Rustin devotee to remove his rose-colored glasses. Other biographies and the film documentary Brother Outsider had already impressed upon me that Rustin was a complicated human being and far from perfect. Here, respectful candor about his flaws helps me confront and appreciate his complexity. And seeing him in a new way also allows me to acknowledge that we share some habits and traits. Upon consideration, that doesn’t necessarily surprise me. After all, we were both raised by grandmothers who nurtured our interests and talents and affirmed our identity.
“Julia’s willingness to accept Bayard as an individual was tested when, as an early teenager, he confided to her his attraction to his male classmates. According to Bayard, her response was, ‘Well, I suppose that’s what you need to do,’” Naegle writes in his essay, “The Legacy of Grandmother Julia Rustin.” She then cautioned him not to associate with anyone with less to lose: in other words, they needed to be equals. Naegle highlights the self-assurance her affirmation gave Rustin. That self-assurance proved the fuel that propelled him.
While not shying away from the controversies brought on by his ignoring Julia Rustin’s admonition and by his Communist past, these essays don’t allow those troubles to overshadow Rustin’s work and legacy. They remind people of his success in organizing two marches on Washington, introducing nonviolence philosophy to Dr. King, and confronting the use of nuclear weapons. And they illustrate how his being mentored by the likes of A. Philip Randolph helped Rustin become one of the 20th century’s most outstanding leaders and community organizers.
Naegle, Rustin’s life partner until his death in 1987, encouraged Rustin to get involved in the LGBTQIA+ rights movement during the last years of his life. That involvement included his speaking at a Black & White Men Together national convention and being appointed to a New York and New Jersey commission confronting discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. Naegle’s insights help us learn about Rustin’s struggles with self-doubt and discrimination in a way that preserves respect for his influence and legacy.
As a Rustin devotee, I found this book to be a fantastic read that gave me a whole new perspective thanks to the clear, concise writing by diverse contributors. However, a more chronologically structured manuscript would enhance the experience of someone just discovering Rustin. Alternating between different eras can be disconcerting.
One might also critique the limited space given to specific aspects of Rustin’s life, including his LGBTQIA+ advocacy. I wondered why that work received so little attention. I learned from an interview with Naegle that Rustin could only devote about three years to those issues before his death. The book could have provided such an explanation.
“A Legacy of Protest and Politics” is an excellent resource for introducing people to Rustin and community organizing, but it can also inspire and re-energize those who are longtime social justice activists. Adding to a growing collection of books exploring Rustin’s dramatic life and legacy, this edited collection provides unique snapshots of the original angelic troublemaker.