PRINTER'S NO. 954
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
100
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY KENYATTA, INNAMORATO, RABB, ISAACSON, KINSEY,
DONATUCCI, HILL-EVANS, HARRIS, KORTZ, O'MARA, SIMS, MURT,
FREEMAN, BURGOS, McCLINTON, WEBSTER, READSHAW, SCHLOSSBERG,
SOLOMON, SAPPEY, DALEY, HOHENSTEIN, A. DAVIS, BURNS,
SCHWEYER, NEILSON, ROEBUCK, MULLINS, BULLOCK, DAWKINS AND
MARKOSEK, MARCH 18, 2019
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
MARCH 18, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the life and significant accomplishments of Bayard
Rustin, an influential and often overlooked leader in our
nation's history.
WHEREAS, Born on March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of 12
children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and
WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr.
Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began
through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his
grandmother's participation in the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People; and
WHEREAS, In 1937, Mr. Rustin attended City College of New
York, where he joined the Young Communist League USA because of
its progressive views on racial justice, but left the group
after it shifted its focus toward supporting the Soviet Union as
opposed to fighting racial injustice in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of the next 10 years, Mr. Rustin
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worked for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) in advocating
for peace, labor rights and social equality, which included his
traveling to India to study the Gandhian philosophy of
nonviolence; and
WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in
planning the March on Washington to protest discrimination in
the armed forces and defense sector, in response to which
President Franklin D. Roosevelt preemptively issued an executive
order ending segregation in the defense industries; and
WHEREAS, A staunch opponent of war, Mr. Rustin was arrested
and jailed in 1944 after refusing to register for the draft; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he
was gay, which became one of many instances where he faced
discrimination on account of his sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., to show his support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and
advocate for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial
injustices in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging
Dr. King to accept pacifism as a way of life and was
instrumental in nonviolence becoming a cornerstone of the Civil
Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and leaned
on his brilliant strategies and organizational skills, which
were on full display in the 1963 March on Washington; and
WHEREAS, In 1963, Mr. Rustin served as the chief organizer
for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a landmark
event credited with facilitating passage of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the remainder of his life, Mr. Rustin
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would go on to combat social injustice, including serving as a
champion for gay rights; and
WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987, but his fight
for nonviolent activism and social justice continues to live on
among the modern day activists who follow in his footsteps;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
and significant accomplishments of Bayard Rustin, an influential
and often overlooked leader in our nation's history.
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