Sunday, February 6 at 10 p.m. – Who Was This Man?, A State of the Re:Union special
(Rochester, NY) – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s hallowed “I Have a Dream Speech” is an iconic moment in the history of civil rights. But this historic moment would probably have never happened if it weren’t for a man standing in King’s shadow, Mr. Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a man with a number of seemingly incompatible labels: black, gay, Quaker…. identifications that served to earn him as many detractors as admirers. Although he had numerous passions and pursuits, his most transformative act, one that certainly changed the course of American history, was to counsel MLK on the use of non-violent resistance. Who Was This Man?, a State of the Re:Union Special, airing Sunday, February 6 at 10 p.m. on AM 1370/FM-HD91.5-2, takes the listeners to a specific place in time that shaped the way we live now. More than just a Black History Month special, Rustin’s complex story is one for all seasons.
Rustin also helped to engineer the March on Washington and frame the Montgomery bus boycott. With such lofty achievements, why isn’t Rustin considered an icon of both Civil Rights and humanity?Why is Rustin not synonymous with Civil Rights? How could a person who changed the course of American history not be a household name? Was he purposely kept out of the history books?
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