I Must Resist: The Life and Letters of Bayard Rustin, edited by Michael G. Long; City Lights, $18.95
Born in 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of America's most valiant nonviolent warriors in the fight for human rights, and his letters throughout the mid-20th-century Civil Rights movement are published in their entirety in an enlightening and historically groundbreaking new anthology commemorating his life and tireless humanitarian work, I Must Resist: The Life and Letters of Bayard Rustin.
A close friend and ally of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rustin is probably best known for organizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This became just one of the many political upheavals that consistently drew him into the crosshairs of the federal government for his tactical and seamless organization of activists, protests, and general uprisings in the name of African-American justice and homosexual freedom. Rustin was unapologetically and very openly gay, and had early ties to the Communist Party, two factors which greatly concerned various other community leaders about the impact those facts would have, and how they could impede the movement's progress and hurt Rustin's credibility.
But Rustin's contributions to American history bloomed in spite of these developments, and this book affords readers a closer look into his political machinations and personal passions. Veteran editor Michael G. Long (Christian Peace and Nonviolence: A Documentary History, 2011) presents Rustin's letters chronologically, and prefaces them with introspective side commentary and a paragraph of information on both the intent of the letters and to whom they were sent. Poring over many cardboard boxes of Rustin's missives, Long carefully hand-selected each one for its ability to convey a unique aspect of his subject's personal life and his public struggle for equality. In doing so, the book explores Rustin's life through a voice that is uniquely his own.
From Rustin's use of code buried in his text to convey anxieties of his sexuality while in prison to his surprising support for bombing activity against a radical black liberation collective, the letters form an open and honest tapestry of opinions on the true nature of a peaceful activist. Beginning in 1942, the letters span decades, and include his staunch opposition to the military draft and to World War II, which landed him in federal prison (and further problems with accusations of homosexual activity while incarcerated). Further on are letters illustrating his historic organization of the Journey of Reconciliation, and his need to redirect aspects of his sexuality in order to focus on matters at hand. After threats by a desperate politician, Rustin writes of his two-year separation from affiliations with Martin Luther King, Jr. King's assassination, a protest over Ronald Reagan's welfare cuts, and critical opinions on Jesse Jackson's bid for the presidency all prove eye-opening and energizing, demonstrating the true spirit of a seasoned civil-rights fighter.
A true, historical game-changer and indefatigable pioneer, and an occupier of Washington long before the current Occupy movement materialized, Bayard Rustin's life, loves, struggles, and accomplishments are respectfully commemorated in this empowering, epistolary volume.