PRINTER'S NO. 3126
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 441
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY SCOTT, KENYATTA, PIELLI, SMITH-WADE-EL, POWELL,
KINSEY, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, GUENST, HOHENSTEIN, WAXMAN,
SANCHEZ, KHAN, DELLOSO, HOWARD, SHUSTERMAN AND MAYES,
MAY 20, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 20, 2024
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating August 24, 2024, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in
2 Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was 1 of 12
4 children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and
5 WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr.
6 Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began
7 through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his
8 grandmother's participation in the National Association for the
9 Advancement of Colored People; and
10 WHEREAS, As a teenager, Mr. Rustin's activism included
11 refusing to sit in the segregated section of the cinema; and
12 WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin later worked for the Fellowship of
13 Reconciliation (FOR) as a young adult, advocating for peace,
14 labor rights and social equality; and
15 WHEREAS, This work included traveling to India to study the
16 Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence; and
17 WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in
 1 calling for a march on Washington to protest discrimination in
2 the armed forces and defense sector, in response to which
3 President Franklin Roosevelt preemptively issued an executive
4 order ending segregation in the defense industries; and
5 WHEREAS, During this period, Mr. Rustin also cofounded the
6 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in the CORE
7 Journey of Reconciliation, which tested Supreme Court rulings
8 barring segregation in interstate travel and later served as a
9 model for the Freedom Rides of 1961; and
10 WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he
11 was gay, which became one of many instances where he faced
12 discrimination on account of his sexual orientation; and
13 WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King,
14 Jr., to show his support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and
15 advocate for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial
16 injustices in the United States; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging
18 Dr. King to accept pacifism as a way of life and was
19 instrumental in nonviolence becoming a cornerstone of the Civil
20 Rights Movement; and
21 WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and leaned
22 on his brilliant strategies and organizational skills, which
23 were on full display when he served as chief organizer for the
24 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and
25 WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became
26 a landmark event credited with facilitating passage of the 1964
27 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and
28 WHEREAS, Throughout the remainder of his life, Mr. Rustin
29 would go on to combat social injustice, including serving as a
30 champion for gay rights; and
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 1 WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin died on August 24, 1987, but his fight
2 for nonviolent activism and social justice continues to live on
3 among the modern-day activists who follow in his footsteps;
4 therefore be it
5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate August
6 24, 2024, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
7 further
8 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
9 and significant accomplishments of this influential and often
10 overlooked leader in our nation's history.
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