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'''Bayard Rustin''' (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was a lifelong socialist, one-time Communist, homosexual activist, and personal secretary to the Reverend Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]. He was instrumental in the United States' civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, and organized the 1964 "March on Washington."

'''Bayard Rustin''' (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was a lifelong socialist, one-time Communist, homosexual activist, and personal secretary to the Reverend Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] He was instrumental in the United States' civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, and organized the 1964 "March on Washington."

Born into a Quaker family, Rustin had a comfortable childhood in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In the 1930s he dropped out of West Chester State College, moving to Harlem, where he sang in local clubs with African American folk artists Huddie Ledbetter and Josh White,<ref>[http://www.congressofracialequality.org/bayard-rustin.html Bayard Rustin (1910-1987): Civil Rights Leader & Political Organizer], Congress of Racial Equality</ref> a loyal Stalinist.<ref>During the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], "White ... lent his talents ... to the Almanac Singers' anti-draft album, ''Songs for John Doe'' (May, 1941).... On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Soviet Russia, and the Hitler-Stalin pact-inspired anti-militarism of ''Songs for John Doe'' was forgotten." [http://www.culturalequity.org/alanlomax/ce_alanlomax_profile_josh_white.php Josh White], culturalequity.org</ref>

Born into a Quaker family, Rustin had a comfortable childhood in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In the 1930s he dropped out of West Chester State College, moving to Harlem, where he sang in local clubs with African American folk artists Huddie Ledbetter and Josh White,<ref>[http://www.congressofracialequality.org/bayard-rustin.html Bayard Rustin (1910-1987): Civil Rights Leader & Political Organizer], Congress of Racial Equality</ref> a loyal Stalinist.<ref>During the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], "White ... lent his talents ... to the Almanac Singers' anti-draft album, ''Songs for John Doe'' (May, 1941).... On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Soviet Russia, and the Hitler-Stalin pact-inspired anti-militarism of ''Songs for John Doe'' was forgotten." [http://www.culturalequity.org/alanlomax/ce_alanlomax_profile_josh_white.php Josh White], culturalequity.org</ref>

On October 25, 1946, Rustin was arrested in Harlem for commission of a lewd act. He was again arrested on January 21, 1953, in Pasadena, California, on a charge of sex perversion. He pleaded guilty to propositioning two males to engage in sodomy and admitted he had previously been arrested on the same charge in New York City. He was sentenced to 60 days.<ref>[https://vault.fbi.gov/bayard-rustin/bayard-rustin-part-02-of-07/view#document/p127 FBI file: Bayard Rustin, Part II, p. 127]</ref>

On October 25, 1946, Rustin was arrested in Harlem for commission of a lewd act. He was again arrested on January 21, 1953, in Pasadena, California, on a charge of sex perversion. He pleaded guilty to propositioning two males to engage in sodomy and admitted he had previously been arrested on the same charge in New York City. He was sentenced to 60 days.<ref>[https://vault.fbi.gov/bayard-rustin/bayard-rustin-part-02-of-07/view#document/p127 FBI file: Bayard Rustin, Part II, p. 127]</ref>

In 1955, Rustin became personal secretary to the Reverend Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]]. The following year. he introduced King to underground Communist [[Stanley Levison]], who would become King's "most influential white counselor."<ref>David J. Garrow, "[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/07/the-fbi-and-martin-luther-king/302537/ The FBI and Martin Luther King]," ''The Atlantic'', July/August 2002</ref> Levison was a contact of high-ranking KGB agent Victor Lessiovsky, who was in New York under cover as personal assistant to United Nations General Secretary U Thant.<ref>John Barron, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mNFVfqDy960C&q=%22victor+lessiovsky%22#v=snippet&q=%22victor%20lessiovsky%22&f=false Operation Solo: The FBI's Man in the Kremlin]'' (Regnery Publishing, 2013) ISBN 1621570991</ref> Lessiovsky specialized in recruiting "Third World" peoples as Soviet assets.<ref>Samuel Francis, "[http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2003/January/27/1/magazine/article/10826341/ Comrade King?]," ''Chronicles'', December 2, 2002</ref> In 1957, Rustin renewed his relationship with the Communist Party, when he attended the CPUSA's 16th National Party Congress by invitation.<ref>John D'Emilio, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=C1xJ5ONWltYC Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin]'' (Simon and Schuster, 2003) ISBN 0684827808, p. 251</ref>

In 1955, Rustin became personal secretary to the Reverend Dr. [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] The following year. he introduced King to underground Communist [[Stanley Levison]], who would become King's "most influential white counselor."<ref>David J. Garrow, "[http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/07/the-fbi-and-martin-luther-king/302537/ The FBI and Martin Luther King]," ''The Atlantic'', July/August 2002</ref> Levison was a contact of high-ranking KGB agent Victor Lessiovsky, who was in New York under cover as personal assistant to United Nations General Secretary U Thant.<ref>John Barron, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mNFVfqDy960C&q=%22victor+lessiovsky%22#v=snippet&q=%22victor%20lessiovsky%22&f=false Operation Solo: The FBI's Man in the Kremlin]'' (Regnery Publishing, 2013) ISBN 1621570991</ref> Lessiovsky specialized in recruiting "Third World" peoples as Soviet assets.<ref>Samuel Francis, "[http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/2003/January/27/1/magazine/article/10826341/ Comrade King?]," ''Chronicles'', December 2, 2002</ref> In 1957, Rustin renewed his relationship with the Communist Party, when he attended the CPUSA's 16th National Party Congress by invitation.<ref>John D'Emilio, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=C1xJ5ONWltYC Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin]'' (Simon and Schuster, 2003) ISBN 0684827808, p. 251</ref>

During the 1960's Rustin was a member<ref>{{cite book|last1=Forman|first1=James|title=The Making of Black Revolutionaries|date=1972|publisher=University of Washington Press|pages=220}}</ref>of the [[League for Industrial Democracy]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carson|first1=Clayborne|title=In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s|date=1981|publisher=[[Harvard University]] Press|pages=29}}</ref>. He would remain a member for years, and became vice president during the 1980's<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/WorkersRightsEastAndWestAComparativeStudyOfTradeUnionAnd|last1=Karatnycky|first1=Adrian|last2=Motyl|first2=Alexander J.|last3=Sturmthal|first3=Adolph|title=Workers' rights, East and West : a comparative study of trade union and workers' rights in Western democracies and Eastern Europe |date=1980|publisher=Transaction Publishing / [[League for Industrial Democracy]]|pages=150}}</ref>.

During the 1960's Rustin was a member<ref>{{cite book|last1=Forman|first1=James|title=The Making of Black Revolutionaries|date=1972|publisher=University of Washington Press|pages=220}}</ref>of the [[League for Industrial Democracy]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Carson|first1=Clayborne|title=In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s|date=1981|publisher=[[Harvard University]] Press|pages=29}}</ref>. He would remain a member for years, and became vice president during the 1980's<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/WorkersRightsEastAndWestAComparativeStudyOfTradeUnionAnd|last1=Karatnycky|first1=Adrian|last2=Motyl|first2=Alexander J.|last3=Sturmthal|first3=Adolph|title=Workers' rights, East and West : a comparative study of trade union and workers' rights in Western democracies and Eastern Europe |date=1980|publisher=Transaction Publishing / [[League for Industrial Democracy]]|pages=150}}</ref>.