This column finds Bayard Rustin criticizing President Richard Nixon’s veto of a federal minimum wage increase, arguing that it placed an even greater burden on low-income working families. Rustin contends that raising wages was essential to reducing poverty and strengthening economic opportunity, while urging Black voters and organized labor to build the political power needed to advance policies that support working people.
The Necessity of Political Participation: Endorsing Hubert Humphrey
In this column published in The St. Louis American, Bayard Rustin warns that calls to boycott the 1968 election would only strengthen conservative forces. He urges Black voters to support Hubert Humphrey, emphasizing his civil rights and labor record and the critical importance of the Black vote in defeating Richard Nixon.
