(born 1910); d.1987 Tactician and organizer behind many of the successes of the Civil Rights movement.

In the 1940s, Rustin helped organize CORE and laid the groundwork for the freedom rides. Testing the Supreme Court decision outlawing interstate travel on a “journey of reconciliation,” he was arrested in North Carolina and spent thirty days on a chain gang.

In the 1950s, Rustin assisted Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bringing to the movement his experience of using non-violent action learned from his Quakerism and work with Gandhi. Also, Rustin organized the 1963 March on Washington, but lost his leadership role as the movement turned away from non-violence towards Black Power. Nevertheless he continued his civil-rights work, leading a campaign against de facto school segregation in New York City, and supported other causes, including gay rights, aid to refugees, rights for workers and opposition to apartheid in South Africa.