This Associated Press interview, published weeks before the March on Washington, portrays Bayard Rustin as the movement’s indispensable strategist, openly managing the massive logistics of a demonstration that had to unfold with flawless discipline. It also shows Rustin confronting efforts to discredit him head-on, grounding his leadership in his Quaker faith, commitment to nonviolence, and refusal to be silenced or blackmailed about his past.
Description
In this Associated Press interview published weeks before the March on Washington, Bayard Rustin is introduced as "Mr. March-on-Washington-Himself". Speaking from a sparsely furnished Harlem office, Rustin laid out the immense logistical stakes of the demonstration, then estimated at a quarter of a million people, and warned that the protest "MUST not be marred by any incidents" that could embarrass the movement.
This interview captures Rustin’s strategic brilliance: he used the press to "deny reports that Rustin would be discharged" by revealing that A. Philip Randolph had specifically conceived of the march with him in mind. By leaning into his identity as a Quaker and a lifelong pacifist, Rustin framed his activism not as "subversive," but as a moral necessity dedicated to "the solution of all the world's problems by nonviolent action". The piece highlights the sheer scale of the task Rustin managed, requiring the "precision of a military campaign" to bring a crowd equal to one-third of the city’s population into the capital.
Critically, the article documents Rustin’s proactive handling of attempts to discredit him. He directly addressed his 1953 arrest in Pasadena on a "morals charge," stating, "I am going to bring it up at our next meeting and let the civil rights leaders decide if this part of my background will affect the cause". By refusing to be blackmailed, Rustin centered his identity as a "Quaker and a pacifist" and a religious conscientious objector who had already served 28 months in federal prison for his beliefs.
Historical Context
By early August 1963, Bayard Rustin was under intense fire. Opponents of the civil rights movement, including segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond, were preparing to use Rustin's private life and past political affiliations to sabotage the March on Washington. Within the movement's own "Big Six" leadership, there was deep anxiety that Rustin’s presence as the lead organizer would provide enemies with too much ammunition.
The "Big Six" refers to the leaders of the six prominent civil rights organizations who orchestrated the March: A. Philip Randolph (Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (SCLC), Roy Wilkins (NAACP), John Lewis (SNCC), Whitney Young (National Urban League), and James Farmer (CORE). While these men held the public titles, they relied on Rustin's technical genius to execute the event. However, due to his identity as a gay man and his former ties to the Young Communist League, members of the Big Six—particularly Roy Wilkins—initially blocked Rustin from being the official Director of the March.
Randolph eventually circumvented this by naming himself the Director and appointing Rustin as his "Deputy." This document serves as a historical record of Rustin's counter-offensive against both the segregationists and the internal hesitations of the movement leadership. By speaking openly about his jail time and his pacifism, he effectively neutralized the "scandal" his opponents were trying to create, turning his personal history into a testament of his commitment to the "ideal" of nonviolent struggle.
“‘Mr. March’ Emphasizes Peaceful Demonstration.” Dallas Morning News, August 8, 1963.
