Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities Alumni Reunion 1992-1997

Coming up at The Schomburg

Between the Lines: Bayard Rustin, A Legacy of Protest and Politics A conversation with author Michael G. Long and Jafari Allen about the legacy and influence of civil rights movement organizer Bayard Rustin.

Check out the trailer for the movie about Bayard Rustin! https://youtu.be/4lBqMhZ3NBg?si=ycqLtI9dhXqidFbF

Does anyone around in 95 remember seeing these signs? Bill just found a copy in his files. I loved the flashback.

Come out and see alumni Jason Samuels Smith in this Wednesday!

We are SO excited to have tap dancer and Emmy-winning performer Jason Samuels Smith join us on Wednesday at the WITNESS 2018 Focus for Change Benefit!

Tickets: witness.org/benefit

Bayard Rustin (March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin was a leading strategist of the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1968. Recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s potential, Rustin helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as a way to strengthen King's leadership within the movement. Rustin had learned about the practices of nonviolent resistance while working with Mahatma Gandhi's movement in India, and he helped to deepen King’s understanding of nonviolence as a philosophy and as a powerful organizing tactic.

Rustin was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and was a strong influence on many younger activists, particularly those involved in the formation of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As a gay man and a former Communist, Ruskin was seen as a liability by many within the movement, but King refused to cut ties to him, as many advisors pressed him to do.

From 1965 until 1979, Rustin served as president, and later as co-chair, of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, an organization of black trade unionists dedicated to racial equality and economic justice. From this position, Rustin promoted his view that future progress for African Americans rested on alliances between blacks, liberals, labor, and religious groups. He also became a vocal advocate of gay rights in his later years, speaking openly of the discrimination and oppression he had faced for most of his life (even within activist circles) because of is homosexuality.

“When an individual is protesting society's refusal to acknowledge his dignity as a human being, his very act of protest confers dignity on him.”

Happy birthday, Bayard.

Humanities family! I just found out that one of our classmates Alasia Cardinez (Donivan) suffered a devastating house fire; she and her children need our help! Please consider donating to her GoFundMe page page (see below) If you are aware of resources that could assist, or you live in the NY area please do so. I thank you all in advance.

Click here to support HELP ASIA REBUILD AFTER HOUSE FIRE organized by Kris Her Queenlyness Rowley

Fellow alumni- come see Jason Samuels Smith perform at The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Marcus Garvey Park on August 24th!

City Parks Foundation Announces SUMMERSTAGE 2017 SEASON NEW YORK, April 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- City Parks Foundation is excited to announce the 2017 season of SummerStage , New York City's largest free outdoor performing arts festival, bringing more than ...

Please let me know who wants to have a 20 year reunion this fall... We will make that happen with enough interest!

Less than two weeks to our NATIONAL BROADCAST on PBS World on January 20th! Check your local listings for exact timings - and don't forget to support our Kickstarter campaign in its last few days!

UPAJ: IMPROVISE From the streets of Harlem to ancient India, a 32 year old and a 64 year old, rhythm, dance, magic!