President Jimmy Carter writes Bayard Rustin, expressing gratitude for his public support and endorsement of proposed federal Civil Service reforms as part of the Black Leadership Forum.
Bayard Rustin’s Social Democrats USA Co-Sponsors Chilean Radical Party Leaders’ Visit to the U.S.
Telegram discussing the upcoming visit of Chilean Radical Party leaders Sule and Parra to Washington, D.C. While the U.S. Department of State declined to sponsor their visit, Bayard Rustin’s Social Democrats USA, along with the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee, agreed to sponsor the trip. These groups organized congressional appointments and a rally in New York City during the visit.
The Arbiter of Circumstance: Defending the Democratic Process
In this 1978 New York Times op-ed, Bayard Rustin reflects on the civil rights movement’s shift from street protest to electoral politics, arguing that true economic justice depends on disciplined engagement with democracy. He cautions against abandoning the ballot for disruption, warning that when democracy erodes, marginalized communities are the first to pay the price.
