Bayard Rustin And The Civil Rights Movement - 1338 Words

Bayard Rustin was one of the most influential organizers and also key members of the civil rights movement. A gay man and once a member of the communist party, Rustin went on to play a significant role in fighting for the rights of African Americans and later on the gay community in the United States. Mostly working behind the scenes, he was able to mold the movement into a symbol of non-violent resistance in the United States and even the world over. He was also an influential figure who sculpted Martin Luther King Jr, who previously had bodyguards for his family and also carried a personal hand gun, to a fundamental understanding of non-violence (Kates and Singer). Throughout his career in the civil rights movement, Bayard Rustin had to†¦show more content†¦These events were a great influence on him and can be said to have contributed to his interest in campaigns against the racially discriminatory Jim Crow laws during his teenage years and the civil rights as well as LGBT rights later on in life. It is in high school, where he excelled in academia as well as sports, where Rustin first protested against racial segregation by refusing to sit on a balcony that was reserved for blacks only in the local movie theater. He also organized fellow athletes in his high school to protest segregated accommodation when they were in out of town trips. As a young man, Rustin attended Cheyney State Teachers College but later dropped out and went to live with his aunt in Harlem where the Young Communist League (YCL) was active in fighting against the Jim Crow laws (Robinson 1132). His fiery personality and strong speaking skills saw him easily ascend to a leadership position where he played an influential role in organizing protests and movements calling for desegregation. Quaker values such as absolute pacifism and a strong belief in equal rights for allShow MoreRelatedThe American Civil Rights Movement1519 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican Civil Rights Movement is personified through several p rominent personalities. These figures exhibited strong character throughout their careers in activism that revolutionized the ideals and opportunities of the 20th century, standing as precedents for courage and perseverance in the face of widespread systemic oppression. However, not all of these figures received the acknowledgment and acceptance that their legacy deserved. 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The ad put in the paper was describing how â€Å" an unprecedented wave of terror† was rising with police actions against peaceful demonstrators in Montgomery, Alabama. The ad was mostly accurate, but a few ofRead MoreCharacter Analysis : The Eyes Of People With Grand Eminence 1798 Words   |  8 Pageshim to immense success that he whole-heartedly had deserved (125). Another example of how if longer developed character translates into success Is through the story of A. Phillip Randolph. Randolph was a leader in the African American Civil Rights and Labor Movements throughout the 19th century. Throughout his early life he learned two key virtues from his parents: Character is more important than skin color and education is the most important thing in helping to develop this character. The way he