Author Description

"Bayard Rustin believed that every human being deserves respect and dignity. As a child he was taught that we all have a duty to stand up to prejudice and discrimination, and that conflict must be resolved through peaceful, nonviolent means. And so, Bayard began to peacefully resist--in high school he was arrested for sitting in the "whites only" section of his hometown movie theater--no matter the consequences. Bayard Rustin grew up to become one of the key figures of the American Civil Rights Movement. He was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., teaching him the philosophy and techniques of nonviolent direct action. In 1963, he organized the March on Washington, one of America's most historic protest marches. And yet, he is absent from most history books, in large part because he was openly gay. This biography traces Bayard's lifetime of activism and highlights his fearless commitment to justice and equality for all." --