In this draft, Bayard Rustin evaluates the leading Democratic presidential contenders through a pragmatic lens, urging Black voters to prioritize concrete economic and social policy over personality or symbolism. He offers a pointed critique of Jimmy Carter’s record while arguing that the true test for any candidate is a serious commitment to full employment and robust federal action benefiting working people.
"A Nixon Is An Agnew Is A Wallace" Newspaper Column: Exposing the Politics of Racial Backlash
In this column published in The St. Louis American, Bayard Rustin critiques Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew’s 1968 “law and order” campaign, arguing that repression could not address the deeper problems of poverty, racism, and urban inequality. Rustin calls for federal investment in jobs, housing, education, healthcare, and transportation, while urging Black voters to mobilize against a political backlash threatening civil rights gains.
Rustin and Author James Baldwin Calling on President Kennedy to Intervene in Alabama
Bayard Rustin and James Baldwin stand side by side, holding an armband inscribed “Birmingham Children” during a protest urging President John F. Kennedy to deploy federal troops to Alabama in response to Governor George Wallace’s militant resistance to desegregation. The armbands honored the memory of African-American children murdered in Birmingham, reinforcing the urgent demand for federal protection of civil rights.
