A 1974 pamphlet examining how “right to work” legislation undermines labor union power and disproportionately harms minority workers by eroding collective bargaining rights, reducing wages, and exacerbating economic insecurity. It analyzes the legal and political strategies used to enact these laws and critiques their impact on racial and economic justice.
Nixon Veto Blasted: Labor Leaders Condemn Minimum Wage Bill Veto
Article reporting labor leaders' sharp criticism of President Richard Nixon's veto of a minimum wage increase bill. Bayard Rustin, representing the A. Philip Randolph Institute, strongly condemns the veto as harmful to working poor Americans, describing it as part of a broader pattern of neglect by the Nixon administration towards Black workers and low-income communities. The article captures the urgency and mobilization among civil rights and labor leaders to lobby Congress for an override.
Rustin Calls for Overcoming “Black Rage and White Fear”
1970 New York Times Announcement: Coalition of Leaders Unite to Honor Bayard Rustin
The New York Times announcement details the upcoming honor dinner for Bayard Rustin at the New York Hilton, featuring prominent civil rights and labor leaders as chairmen including A. Philip Randolph, Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, George Meany, and Roy Wilkins. The $100-per-ticket fundraiser aimed to raise $200,000 for the A. Philip Randolph Institute.
Bayard Rustin at Honor Dinner, New York Hilton, 1970
Bayard Rustin attends a dinner held in his honor at the New York Hilton Hotel, where he served as guest of honor as executive director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. During his speech, Rustin called for Americans to "get rid of black rage and white fear" and issued a "Call to Americans of Goodwill" supporting the poor.
1967 Pamphlet Outlining Rustin’s Freedom Budget for Economic and Racial Justice
Bayard Rustin's Vision for Economic Justice: "Firebombs or a Freedom Budget"
In 1967, Rustin called for a sweeping Freedom Budget to confront the economic roots of racial injustice, arguing that the civil rights movement had shifted from winning rights to demanding resources. Only large-scale federal investment, he insisted, could meet the needs of the poorest and restore hope to Black communities.
Bayard Rustin at Walter Reuther Press Conference, March 1965
From Protest to Politics: Rustin's Blueprint for Political Power
Bayard Rustin's landmark essay "From Protest to Politics," originally published in Commentary magazine and reprinted as a pamphlet by the League for Industrial Democracy, advocating for the civil rights movement's strategic transformation from direct action protests to coalition-based electoral politics and economic reform programs.
Bayard Rustin’s “Negro Revolution in 1965” Address at the Center for Democratic Institutions
In this address, Bayard Rustin argues that the civil rights movement seeks integration into American society as it exists, yet is inherently revolutionary because fulfilling Black demands requires transforming institutions that cannot remain unchanged. He calls for a strategic shift from protest to broad coalition-based political action, insisting that only a unified movement for full employment and social investment can address systemic injustice without pitting Black and white workers against one another.
