This column finds Bayard Rustin arguing that residential segregation lies at the heart of racial inequality in America. Using the controversy over a public housing project in Forest Hills, Queens, he challenges opposition to integrated housing and critiques proposals that would reinforce segregation. Rustin contends that expanding access to integrated communities—not preserving segregated neighborhoods—is essential to achieving equal opportunity and dismantling the legacy of the urban ghetto.
Down The Line: Rustin’s Intellectual Blueprint for Social Change
This promotional document for Down The Line highlights Bayard Rustin’s collected writings on nonviolence, democracy, economic justice, and coalition-building. Spanning nearly three decades, the volume traces Rustin’s vision for moving the civil rights movement from protest to sustained political power. The collection presents his enduring belief that lasting social change requires interracial cooperation, structural reform, and a deep commitment to democratic ideals.
