I Must Resist

Bayard Rustin has been called the "lost prophet" of the civil rights movement. A master strategist and tireless activist, he is best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest nonviolent protests ever held in the United States. He brought Gandhi's protest techniques to the American civil rights movement and played a deeply influential role in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., helping to mold him into an international symbol of nonviolence. Despite these achievements, Rustin often remained in the background. As a gay man convicted of a "morals charge," and as a socialist with a background in the Communist Party, he was well aware of the possibility that opponents would use him as fodder in their denunciations of the movement. He was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. Here we have Rustin in his own words, a collection of over 150 of his letters, some of them breathtakingly personal, remarkable for the insights they offer. His correspondents include the major progressives of his day as well as family and friends, and each letter is prefaced by a short, informative introduction. Bayard Rustinstands at the confluence of the great struggles for civil, legal, and human rights. In a nation still torn by racial hatred and violence, bigotry against homosexuals, and extraordinary divides between rich and poor, his eloquent voice is still essential today.