This report covers a New York gathering of leading civil rights figures—including Bayard Rustin, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, James Farmer, and John Lewis—where SNCC and CORE declined to endorse a proposed moratorium on demonstrations until after the upcoming November election, signaling a split over tactics between direct-action proponents and calls for strategic pause.
‘Mr. March’ Emphasizes Peaceful Demonstration: Bayard Rustin’s Direct Confrontation of Personal and Political Attacks
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.
