WHEREAS, Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of 12 children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and
WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr. Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his grandmother's participation in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and
WHEREAS, As a teenager, Mr. Rustin's activism included refusing to sit in the segregated section of a cinema, demonstrating his early stand against racial injustice; and
WHEREAS, As a young adult, Mr. Rustin worked for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), advocating for peace, labor rights and social equality; and
WHEREAS, His work included traveling to India to study the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, further shaping his belief in peaceful resistance as a means for achieving social justice; and
WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in calling for a march on Washington to protest discrimination in the armed forces and the defense sector, prompting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue an executive order ending segregation in defense industries; and
WHEREAS, During this period, Mr. Rustin cofounded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in the CORE Journey of Reconciliation, which tested Supreme Court rulings barring segregation in interstate travel and later served as a model for the Freedom Rides of 1961; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he was gay, an example of the discrimination he faced throughout his life due to his sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to show support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and advocate for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial injustices in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging Dr. King to embrace pacifism as a way of life and was instrumental in making nonviolence a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and relied on his strategies and organizational skills, which were most notably displayed when Mr. Rustin served as the chief organizer for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became a landmark event credited with facilitating the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Rustin continued to combat social injustices, becoming a champion for gay rights in addition to his work for racial equality and labor rights; and
WHEREAS, In 1986, Mr. Rustin gave the keynote speech at the fifth anniversary celebration of Black and White Men Together (BWMT) Philadelphia, a group dedicated to bringing together gay men of various ethnicities and shared a key message: visibility of the gay community is crucial; and
WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin passed away on August 24, 1987, but his legacy of nonviolent activism and social justice lives on among modern-day activists who follow in his footsteps; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby honors the life and significant accomplishments of Bayard Rustin, an influential and often overlooked leader in our nation and the Philadelphia region’s history by declaring March 17, 2025, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in the City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That two Engrossed copies of this Resolution be presented to the family and friends of Bayard Rustin , as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.
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