Description:
In this 1968 column, Bayard Rustin addresses the controversy surrounding the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the demand for due process in the transferring or firing of educators. Rustin maintains that no teacher should be removed without written charges, an opportunity for defense, and an impartial arbitrator. He offers a naked assessment of the backlash he received from some in the Black community, noting that the insulting calls and denunciations suggest a belief that he had committed a heinous crime. Rustin argues that to act otherwise is to damn the movement to sterility and grant a small but militant minority veto power over the majority. For Rustin, the utility of politics requires speaking the truth as one sees it, even when it is unpopular.
Rustin emphasizes that the black struggle must remain intelligent and secure enough to debate questions of strategy and social philosophy without animus. He rejects the argument that because white authorities previously transferred teachers at their will and whim, Black supervisors should do the same. Rustin asserts that he does not want to ape the cold indifference and injustice of the white man, stating that people should be treated as persons rather than objects to be shunted about. He advocates for a blueprint of proper decentralization of schools but insists that such progress will be delayed unless common cause is made between the teachers' union and the parents.
Historical Context
Published in October 1968, this article captures the atmosphere of enduring disappointment and racial tension defining the New York City school crisis. It documents Rustin’s role as a professional strategist attempting to preserve the liberal-labor coalition during a period of revolutionary transition. By defending due process, Rustin sought to protect the legal foundations of labor rights from the emotional atmosphere of the era. This document serves as a record of his commitment to the long game of institutional reform, emphasizing that the nature of politics in a democratic society must be rooted in light rather than heat.
Bayard Rustin tells it like it is: LIGHT NOT HEAT BY BAYARD RUSTIN. (1968, Oct 03). The St.Louis American (1949-2010) Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.princeton.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/bayard-rustin-tells-like-is/docview/3056199444/se-2
