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Bayard Rustin
Civil-rights strategist & organizer of the March on Washington
The brilliant organizer who built the movement's greatest day from behind the scenes.
The rise
A Quaker pacifist who studied Gandhian nonviolence in India, Rustin became a master strategist who mentored Martin Luther King Jr. in the philosophy and tactics of nonviolent resistance.
What they did
He was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, pulling off the largest demonstration the country had seen, and spent decades advancing civil rights, labor and later gay rights.
The full picture
As an openly gay man in a hostile era, Rustin was pushed to the margins and forced to work behind the scenes, his contributions long under-recognized.
Why it matters
Rustin was the movement's indispensable organizer and an early bridge between the Black freedom and LGBTQ struggles.
“We need in every community a group of angelic troublemakers.”