Bayard Rustin (1912–1987)

Time on Two Crosses provides a fascinating look into the mind of the brilliant civil rights strategist, Bayard Rustin, whose struggles as an openly gay African American in the 1940s-1980s formed the “two crosses” of the book’s title. Over the course of a more than 45-year career in activism, Bayard Rustin was a leader in the African American civil rights movement, anti-war efforts, labor movement, and gay rights movement. He is most remembered as the architect of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the co-organizer of the 1963 March on Washington along with A. Philip Randolph. Time on Two Crosses collects 48 of Rustin’s speeches, essays and interviews, many of which are hauntingly prescient and provide valuable lessons for current activists. Some of the highlights include, “Twenty-two days on a Chain Gang,” Rustin’s 1949 account of serving time in a North Carolina prison after having been arrested for challenging Jim Crow laws on interstate buses; “Civil Rights, 20 Years Later,” a reflection on the March on Washington written in 1983; and “Black and Gay in the Civil Rights Movement: An Interview with Open Hands,” from 1987. Rustin’s writing is luminescent and profound, but the book's editing leaves much to be desired in terms of context. Additional research on Rustin may be required to understand his role in the movements he worked with and reasons for writing some of the essays. I suggest pairing this book with Taylor Branch's histories of America during the King years.… (meer)