In a landmark 1977 speech, Bayard Rustin called for expanding the civil rights movement into a comprehensive human right coalition to confront social, economic, and political injustices. He emphasized opposition to all forms of dictatorship and the need to address economic and social welfare as integral to human rights.
Bayard Rustin's Letter to Eldridge Cleaver: Principle and Disappointment
Rustin writes to Eldridge Cleaver in 1977 to explain why he is dissolving the Cleaver Defense Committee. Its main goals had either been achieved or become unnecessary, and Cleaver’s silence suggested his priorities had shifted away from the democratic message the committee was built to amplify. Rustin expresses quiet disappointment but ends with characteristic generosity, assuring Cleaver that his door remains open.
