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PRINTER'S NO. 716
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 86
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CARROLL, KENYATTA, KRAJEWSKI, SCOTT, SMITH-WADE-
EL, MADDEN, ISAACSON, VENKAT, OTTEN, MAYES, HILL-EVANS,
SAPPEY, RABB, FREEMAN, SANCHEZ, HOHENSTEIN, GUENST, BOROWSKI,
MALAGARI AND ABNEY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 21, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Designating March 17, 2025, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of 12
children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and
WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr.
Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began
through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his
grandmother's participation in the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People; and
WHEREAS, As a teenager, Mr. Rustin's activism included
refusing to sit in the segregated section of a cinema,
demonstrating his early stand against racial injustice; and
WHEREAS, As a young adult, Mr. Rustin worked for the
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), advocating for peace, labor
rights and social equality; and
WHEREAS, His work included traveling to India to study the
Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, further shaping his belief
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in peaceful resistance as a means for achieving social justice;
and
WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in
calling for a march on Washington to protest discrimination in
the armed forces and the defense sector, prompting President
Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue an executive order ending
segregation in defense industries; and
WHEREAS, During this period, Mr. Rustin cofounded the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in the CORE
Journey of Reconciliation, which tested Supreme Court rulings
barring segregation in interstate travel and later served as a
model for the Freedom Rides of 1961; and
WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he
was gay, an example of the discrimination he faced throughout
his life due to his sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., to show support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and advocate
for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial
injustices in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging
Dr. King to embrace pacifism as a way of life and was
instrumental in making nonviolence a cornerstone of the Civil
Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and relied
on his strategies and organizational skills, which were most
notably displayed when Mr. Rustin served as the chief organizer
for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and
WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became
a landmark event credited with facilitating the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and
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WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Rustin continued to combat
social injustices, becoming a champion for gay rights in
addition to his work for racial equality and labor rights; and
WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin passed away on August 24, 1987, but
his legacy of nonviolent activism and social justice lives on
among modern-day activists who follow in his footsteps;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate March
17, 2025, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
and significant accomplishments of Bayard Rustin, an influential
and often overlooked leader in our nation's history.
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