“Already, they have begun to do to Gandhi what has been done to Jesus—worship him as an unobtainable ideal. That is the sin of men of goodwill—not really to believe in their own power.”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Gandhi, jesus, Goodwill, Heroes, Hero Worship
“Mrs. Greenstone, I am 59 years old. I am black and I have lived with and fought racism my entire life. I have been in prison 23 times—serving 28 months in a federal penitentiary and 30 days on a North Carolina chain gang, among other punishments. I have seen periods of progress followed by reaction.…”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Oppression Olympics, negro, Anti-Semitism, World War II, Progress
“In my statement I cited the major lesson I had learned in fighting for human rights for 50 years for people all over the world. That lesson is simple: no group is ultimately safe from prejudice, bigotry, and harassment so long as any group is subject to special negative treatment.”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: human rights, bigotry, Prejudice, Harassment
“[T]he demonstration bore the title ‘March for Jobs and Freedom.’ We realized even then that true freedom and racial equality cannot be achieved within the context of a stagnant economy, unable to provide blacks with permanent, good-paying jobs.”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Jobs, Freedom, Black Americans, Racial Equality
“The most urgently needed national policy is a commitment to full employment. When black unemployment is above 13 percent...we have a major national crisis. When overall unemployment by official statistics remains above seven percent...we have a major national crisis....We need to rededicate ourselve…”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Full Employment, Unemployment
“[W]e must remember that we cannot hope to achieve democracy and equality in such a way that would destroy the very kind of society which we hope to build. If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we m…”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Democracy, Equality, discrimination, Brotherhood, Violence
“The basic issue, however, is not political. It is moral and spiritual. For Christians it has to do with the scriptural teaching that all men, whatever their race or color, are children of one Father, created by him for an eternal destiny, and therefore of infinite worth....It has to do with the comm…”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Christians, Segregation, Love One Another, Moral, Spiritual
“Today I feel that God motivates me to use my whole being to combat by nonviolent means the ever-growing racial tension in the United States; at the same time the state directs that I shall do its will; which of these dictates can I follow—that of God or that of the state? Surely, I must at all times…”— Bayard Rustin, huffingtonpost.comTagged: Racial Tension, God's Will