With a name like Rustin

I was raised in a small east Texas town. Population 1,400. One flashing traffic light. It's actually the same town that my Mother was raised and her mother and her mother too. Everyone knows everyone. You get the picture.

I share this because from my earliest memory of someone asking "what's the story behind your first name, Rustin?" my response was always: "my Mother liked the name." I've learned there is much more to the name than I first realized.

A famous civil rights leader - Bayard Rustin - is considered one of the most influential strategists of his time. You may have heard of him, but many have not.? Maybe my mother had heard of him or maybe not. However, I am appreciative of the fact that I share a name with an icon.

Rustin was a gay, socialist, pacifist, black man. This did not stop him from his activism. Rustin possessed many extraordinary leadership traits and here are four strategic leadership lessons that inspire me and I hope will inspire you as well.

Who was Rustin?

Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was not part of my history books growing up. Certainly not that I remembered and I think I would have remembered someone I shared names with! His skills as an organizer, planner, and leader were highly valued by prominent leaders in the Civil Rights Movement; yet, Rustin was relegated to the background during the Movement. He was a gay man, which he guarded from public scrutiny.

Rustin was brought up with well-respected grandparents who exposed him to social justice from an early age. Julia Rustin, his grandmother, was one of the first members of the NAACP after it was founded (D’Emilio, 2003). The day he told her he was gay, she said, “I suppose that’s what you need to do” – during a fiercely homophobic era.

His values concerning human rights and concepts of nonviolence were rooted in the Quaker belief system. These beliefs led to his studies of non-violence in India with Mahatma Gandhi’s son in 1948 (Carbado & Weise, 2004). In the following years, his knowledge and ability to teach others about these beliefs were critical to the Movement.

"For decades, this great leader, often at Dr. King’s side, was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay. No medal can change that, but today, we honor Bayard Rustin’s memory by taking our place in his march towards true equality, no matter who we are or who we love.”

~President Barack Obama, November 20, 2013, Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony

Rustin's Leadership Lessons

1. Your values will shape the work

Whether it’s your faith, your organization’s mission or your favorite sports team – believe in something. In a 1960 letter, King told a colleague: “We are thoroughly committed to the method of nonviolence in our struggle and we are convinced that Bayard’s expertness and commitment in this area will be of inestimable value.” For Rustin, his belief in nonviolence guided his life and every human interaction. What do you believe in? What brings you solace and joy? What provides the lens through which you see this world and your place in it? A leader believes in something outside of themselves and uses it as a motivator, a guidebook and a compass in professional and personal interactions.

My activism did not spring from my being gay, or, for that matter, from my being black. Rather, it is rooted fundamentally in the values instilled in me by my grandparents.

2. It takes many actions to make a big change

Rustin’s actions always demonstrated?a clear message centred on a unified and coherent theme.?No-one should have to work out who your target is, what is the problem, and who has the power to make change happen.

Rustin’s advice centred on timing and message:?choose a time when you will not contribute to a backlash, or a specific opportunity has opened up. Then act with a clear message.

In 1946 the Supreme Court delivered the Irene Morgan Decision. Morgan was a black woman travelling on an interstate ticket. Travelling between one unsegregated state, to a state with forced segregation, Morgan did not move seats on the journey and was arrested. The Court ruled her arrest unjust.?Rustin saw this moment as ripe for action?and built a nationwide bus boycott. It was called ‘The Journey of Reconciliation.’ This was the first Freedom Ride, a full 13 years before Rosa Parks gained recognition.

In May 1963, the nation looked in horror, as Birmingham police turned fire hoses and attack dogs on children. Birmingham sparked the urgency for the March on Washington. Rustin saw this moment to act; he got on the phone to King, to organise the march he had in his mind for over a decade.

Organising is a slow burn;?you learn and get better after each action.

3. You don't always have to be out front

Being a leader doesn’t always mean you’re going to be out front. Rustin and his team organized one of the most important public acts of protest of the entire 20th century. Though many people remember what Mahalia sang, what John Lewis said or King’s landmark “I Have Dream Speech,” most people have never heard of Bayard Rustin. A leader will forgo recognition, instead choosing to lift up the accomplishments of the team. To ensure the next generation gains recognition and opportunities that propel them into future leadership roles. We grow as leaders, not only by building organizations, businesses and institutions, but by growing others.

Rustin mentored a 25-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. when he was given the responsibility of the Montgomery bus boycott. King had no experience in organising and was young socks to this well-trained organiser. Rustin would use his knowledge, contacts, and organisational abilities, to train King into the man we all know today.?Rustin was not only his mentor, but he would also be his ghostwriter, teacher, and nonviolence strategist.

4. Leaders are human

Rustin was sharp, strategic, had fantastic hair and a beautiful tenor voice. He fell in love at a zebra crossing in San Francisco to his lifelong partner, Walter Naegle. I’m not completely sure the world of 2022 is ready for Black, gay male leaders. But, I know for sure – to take a phrase from Oprah – the world of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was not ready. Rustin was often shunned and shamed due to his sexual orientation.?

My best friends have been beaten and assassinated. Yet, to remain human and to fulfil my commitment to a just society, I must continue to fight for the liberation of all men.

He was true to himself and those he loved. In 1953 Rustin was arrested for being gay at a time when gay sex was a crime in every state. He was sent to jail for 60 days. Following this, people on his team disassociated with him. In 1960, Martin Luther King would cut ties with Rustin, after being blackmailed. By 1963, King would bring Rustin back in. Rustin was tactically brilliant, visionary and King could not succeed without him.

Leave your legacy

Bayard Rustin passed away on August 24th 1987. His legacy, his impact, and his teachings carry forward to this day.

Be your authentic self, whatever that is.?Rustin was a gay, socialist, pacifist, black man. This did not stop him from his activism. People were not comfortable with him being authentic in who he was. It is not our job to make people feel comfortable with their prejudice, racism and hate.

“We mourn the loss of Bayard Rustin, a great leader in the struggle for civil rights in the United States and for human rights throughout the world… Though a pacifist, he was a fighter to the finish. That is why over the course of his life he won the undying love of all who cherish freedom.”?

~Ronald Reagan, 1987

References

• Carbado, D. W. & Weise, D. (2004). The civil rights identity of Bayard Rustin,?Texas Law Review,?82 (5), 1133-1195.
• D’Emilio, J. (2003). Lost prophet: The life and times of Bayard Rustin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Rustin, B. (2003). "Time on Two Crosses: The Collected Writing of Bayard Rustin"