This article reports on Bayard Rustin’s 1947 arrest in Chapel Hill while participating in the Journey of Reconciliation, an early civil rights action challenging segregation on interstate buses. The coverage highlights Rustin’s unwavering commitment to nonviolent direct action and the personal sacrifices he endured for racial equality.
1947 Bayard Rustin’s Hotel Lobby Sit-In Challenging Northern Racial Discrimination
In 1947, Bayard Rustin staged a successful all-night sit-in protest in the lobby of the Hamline Hotel in St. Paul Minnesota, after being denied access to a reserved room due to his race. Joined by NAACP leaders and white allies, Rustin's non violence demonstration challenged segregationist practices in a Northern city and exemplified early direct action tactics that influence later civil rights protests.
Strings of Defiance: Bayard Rustin and the Lute in Prison, 1947
Bayard Rustin is pictured with a lute he taught himself to play while imprisoned for his refusal to serve in the military during World War II. Despite the challenges of incarceration, Rustin used music to maintain morale and resist the oppressive conditions of a racially segregated prison system. His time in prison was marked by persistent activism against segregation and injustice within the prison walls.
