An unsung hero of the civil rights movement - Christina Greer

Translator: Alifiyah A'yunin Reviewer: Ade Indarta

On August 28th, 1963,

Pada 28 Agustus 1963,

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech

Martin Luther King Jr. menyampaikan pidato "Saya Punya Mimpi"

at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

dalam Gerakan Washington tentang Pekerjaan dan Kebebasan.

That day,

nearly a quarter million people

Pada hari itu,

hampir seperempat juta orang

gathered on the national mall

berkumpul di lapangan nasional

to demand an end to the discrimination, segregation, violence,

untuk menuntut diakhirinya diskriminasi, segragasi, kekerasan,

and economic exclusion black people still faced

dan pengucilan ekonomi terhadap ras kulit hitam

across the United States.

di seluruh Amerika Serikat.

None of it would have been possible without the march’s chief organizer

Hal tersebut mustahil terjadi tanpa ketua penyelenggara gerakan

– a man named Bayard Rustin.

– pria bernama Bayard Rustin.

Rustin grew up in a Quaker household,

Rustin tumbuh di keluarga Quaker,

and began peacefully protesting racial segregation in high school.

dan mulai memprotes dengan damai segregasi ras di sekolah menengah.

He remained committed to pacifism throughout his life,

Dia tetap berpegang pada pasivisme sepanjang hidupnya,

and was jailed in 1944 as a conscientious objector to World War II.

dan dipenjara tahun 1944 sebagai penentang Perang Dunia II sejati.

During his two-year imprisonment,

Selama dua tahun masa penjaranya,

he protested the segregated facilities from within.

dia memprotes dari dalam sel tentang pemisahan fasilitas

Wherever Rustin went,

Ke mana pun Rustin pergi,

he organized and advocated,

dia mengatur dan mendukung,

and was constantly attuned to the methods, groups, and people

serta terus berkutat dengan metode, kelompok, dan masyarakat

who could help further messages of equality.

yang dapat menyebarkan pesan kesetaraan.

He joined the Communist Party

Dia ikut serta Partai Komunis

when black American’s civil rights were one of its priorities,

ketika hak-hak orang hitam Amerika menjadi prioritasnya,

but soon became disillusioned by the party’s authoritarian leanings

tapi tak lama ia kecewa karena kecenderungan otoriter partai

and left.

dan keluar.

In 1948,

Pada 1948,

he traveled to India to learn the peaceful resistance strategies

dia pergi ke India untuk belajar strategi perlawanan damai

of the recently assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

yang dipelopori oleh Mahatma Gandhi yang baru saja dibunuh.

He returned to the United States

Dia kembali ke Amerika Serikat

armed with strategies for peaceful protest,

terbekali dengan strategi protes damai,

including civil disobedience.

termasuk pembangkangan sipil.

He began to work with Martin Luther King Jr in 1955,

Dia memulai bekerja sama dengan Martin Luther King Jr. pada 1955

and shared these ideas with him.

dan bertukar pikiran dengannya.

As King’s prominence increased,

Saat ketenaran King meningkat,

Rustin became his main advisor,

Rustin menjadi penasihat umumnya,

as well as a key strategist in the broader civil rights movement.

sebagai kunci strategis dalam perluasan pergerakan hak-hak sipil.

He brought his organizing expertise

Dia menggunakan keahliannya

to the 1956 bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama

dalam pemboikotan bus di Montmogomery, Alabama tahun 1956

—in fact,

—bahkan,

he had organized and participated in a transportation protest

dia mengatur dan berpartisipasi dalam protes transportasi

that helped inspire the boycotts almost a decade before.

yang menginspirasi pemboikotan hampir satu dekade sebelumnya.

His largest-scale organizing project came in 1963,

Proyek pengorganisiran terbesarnya dimulai pada 1963

when he led the planning for the national march on Washington.

ketika dia memimpin rencana gerakan nasional di Washington

The possibility of riots that could injure marchers

Kemungkinan adanya kericuhan yang membahayakan demostran

and undermine their message of peaceful protest was a huge concern.

dan mengacaukan pesan protes damai adalah sesuatu yang ia khawatirkan.

Rustin not only worked with the DC police and hospitals to prepare,

Rustin tidak hanya berkerja sama dengan polisi DC dan rumah sakit,

but organized and trained a volunteer force of 2,000 security marshals.

tapi juga mengatur dan melatih sukarelawan bersama 2000 petugas keamanan.

In spite of his deft management,

Terlepas dari kelihaian manajemennya,

some of the other organizers did not want Rustin to march in front

beberapa pengurus tidak ingin Rustin berbaris di depan

with other leaders from the south, because of his homosexuality.

dengan para pemimpin dari selatan karena homoseksualitasnya.

Despite these slights,

Meskipun dia dihina,

Rustin maintained his focus, and on the day of the march

Rustin tetap berfokus, dan pada saat gerakan dilakukan,

he delivered the marchers' demands

dia memenuhi tuntutan demostran

in a speech directed at President John F. Kennedy.

yang diarahkan pada Presiden John F. Kennedy.

The march itself proceeded smoothly, without any violence.

Gerakan itu sendiri berjalan sukses, tanpa kekerasan.

It has been credited with helping pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act,

Gerakan ini dianggap berjasa meloloskan Undang-Undang Hak Sipil tahun 1964

which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination,

yang menghentikan segregasi di tempat umum dan melarang diskriminasi kerja,

and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,

dan Undang-Undang Hak Pilih tahun 1965,

which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.

yang melarang praktik pemungutan suara secara diskriminatif.

In spite of his decades of service,

Terlepas dari pengabdiannya,

Rustin’s positions on certain political issues were unpopular among his peers.

posisi Rustin tidak populer dalam isu politik tertentu di antara sesamanya.

Some thought he wasn’t critical enough of the Vietnam War,

Beberapa berpikir dia kurang kritis terhadap perang Vietnam,

or that he was too eager to collaborate with the political establishment

atau dia terlalu berhasrat bekerja sama dengan lembaga politik

including the president and congress.

termasuk Presiden dan Kongres.

Others were uncomfortable with his former communist affiliation.

Yang lain merasa tidak nyaman dengan bekas afiliasi komunisnya,

But ultimately,

tetapi akhirnya,

both his belief in collaboration

Baik kerja samanya dengan

with the government and his membership

pemerintah, dan keanggotaanya

to the communist party

dalam partai komunis

had been driven by his desire to maximize tangible gains

didorong oleh keinginannya untuk mencapai hasil nyata

in liberties for black Americans,

bagi kebebasan kulit hitam Amerika

and to do so as quickly as possible.

dan melakukannya secepat mungkin.

Rustin was passed over for several influential roles in the 1960s and 70s,

Rustin terus menjalani peran berpengaruh di era 1960an dan 1970an,

but he never stopped his activism.

dan terus aktif berkegiatan.

In the 1980s,

Pada 1980an,

he publicly came out as gay, and was instrumental

dia terang-terangan mengakui dia gay dan berperan

in drawing attention to the AIDS crisis until his death in 1987.

dalam menaruh perhatian pada krisis AIDS sampai kematiannya pada tahun 1987.

In 2013,

Tahun 2013,

fifty years after the March On Washington,

lima puluh tahun setelah Gerakan di Washington,

President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him

Presiden Barack Obama secara anumerta menganugerahi Rustin

the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

Medali Kebebasan Presiden,

praising Rustin’s “march towards true equality,

memuji "gerakan kesetaraan sejati,

no matter who we are or who we love.”

tidak peduli siapa kita atau siapa yang kita cintai."