“April 4, 1969 will mark the first anniversary of the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I can think of no better way to observe that Good Friday than to reflect on the meaning of Dr. King’s life and his death, and to rededicate ourselves to the continuation of his work. Dr. King’s philosophy […]
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Concience of the Nation
by dianeravitch, 1/16/17 I was never fortunate enough to meet Dr. King, but I was a member of the vast crowd that stood on the Mall when he spoke to the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. I became a good friend of his close aide Bayard Rustin, who like Dr. King, was eloquent […]
Bayard Rustin’s 104th birthday
Friends, Today is Bayard Rustin’s 104th birthday. A Black, gay, nonviolent activist, and an influential strategist/tactician, Bayard began as a radical outsider, yet received a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2013. Since his death in 1987, he has become more widely known than during his lifetime, and his journey continues […]
Bayard Rustin a Medal of Freedom honoree
By Jeremy Gerrard, Daily Local News, 11/21/13 The borough of West Chester was represented Wednesday at the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony, where borough native Bayard Rustin was one of 16 individuals honored this year. West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta was invited to be a guest at the ceremony in the East Room of the […]
Mayor invited to White House to honor Bayard Rustin!
email from Mayor Comitta, 11/18/13 I am honored to have been invited by President and Mrs. Obama to the White House for the Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony and Reception on November 20th. West Chester’s own Bayard Rustin is one of the recipients of the 2013 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor bestowed […]
Bayard Rustin’s civil rights legacy
by Mchael P. Rellahan, Daily Local News, 8/24/13 His work helped galvanize MLK’s ideals in Chester County WEST CHESTER — Without the supreme eloquence of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s stirring “I Have a Dream” speech delivered at the March of Washington, D.C. — the 50th anniversary of which will occur Wednesday — the […]
Bayard Rustin: the gay black pacifist at the heart of the March on Washington
by Gary Younge, The Guardian, 8/23/13 Though he was chief strategist for King’s march, Rustin was kept in the background as some organizers considered him a liability. He died in 1987, and is sometimes forgotten in civil rights history When civil rights leaders met at the Roosevelt Hotel in Harlem in early July 1963 to […]
Black, Gay and a Pacifist: Bayard Rustin Remembered For Role in March on Washington, Mentoring MLK
Democracy Now!, 8/12/13 The White House has announced it will posthumously award the highest civilian award in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to the trailblazing civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Obama will honor Rustin and 15 others, including President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and baseball great Ernie Banks, at the White House […]
Bayard Rustin’s Legacy: West Chester’s Civil Rights Hero
BY J. F. PIRRO, Main Line Today, 7/19/13 An integral part of the Civil Rights Movement and the march on Washington, Bayard Rustin and his influence is remembered by West Chester’s Bill Scott. “Martin Luther King may have told us about his dream, but Bayard Rustin built the platform on which King stood.” From an […]
