An unsung hero of the civil rights movement - Christina Greer

翻译人员: Candace Hwang 校对人员: Carol Wang

On August 28th, 1963,

在 1963 年 8 月 28 日举行的

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

“为工作和自由向华盛顿进军”活动中，

at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

马丁·路德·金发表了 《我有一个梦想》的演讲。

That day,

nearly a quarter million people

那一天，

将近 25 万人

gathered on the national mall

聚集在国家广场上，

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

要求停止对全美黑人仍然面临的

and economic exclusion black people still faced

种族歧视、隔离、暴力

across the United States.

以及经济排斥。

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

若没有这场游行的组织者—— 一名叫贝亚德·拉斯汀的人，

– a man named Bayard Rustin.

这一切都不可能发生。

Rustin grew up in a Quaker household,

拉斯汀在一个贵格会家庭长大，

and began peacefully protesting racial segregation in high school.

高中时就开始和平抗议种族隔离。

He remained committed to pacifism throughout his life,

他一生都致力于和平主义，

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

1944 年，因极力反对二战入狱。

During his two-year imprisonment,

在两年的监禁期间，

he protested the segregated facilities from within.

他从监狱内部 抗议种族隔离设施。

Wherever Rustin went,

无论拉斯汀去哪里，

he organized and advocated,

他进行组织和倡导，

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

并不断适应方法、团体

who could help further messages of equality.

以及能帮助宣扬平等信息的人。

He joined the Communist Party

他加入了共产党，

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

因为美国黑人的公民权利 是该党优先倡导的事情之一，

but soon became disillusioned by the party’s authoritarian leanings

但幻想很快就 被该党的专制倾向所破灭，

and left.

然后他便离开了。

In 1948,

1948 年，他前往印度，

he traveled to India to learn the peaceful resistance strategies

向最近被暗杀的圣雄·甘地

of the recently assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

学习和平抵抗策略。

He returned to the United States

然后他回到美国，

armed with strategies for peaceful protest,

以和平抗议战略武装自己，

including civil disobedience.

包括非暴力反抗。

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

1955 年他开始与马丁·路德·金合作，

and shared these ideas with him.

并和他分享这些想法。

As King’s prominence increased,

随着金的地位日益提高，

Rustin became his main advisor,

拉斯汀成为了他的主要顾问，

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

以及更广泛的民权运动的 关键战略家。

He brought his organizing expertise

他在 1956 年阿拉巴马州 蒙哥马利巴士抵制活动中，

to the 1956 bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama

展现了他的组织能力——

—in fact,

事实上，

he had organized and participated in a transportation protest

他曾组织并参与了 一次交通抗议活动，

that helped inspire the boycotts almost a decade before.

这激发了在近十年前的 一系列抵制运动。

His largest-scale organizing project came in 1963,

他 1963 年组织了最大规模的活动，

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

领导了华盛顿的全国游行计划。

The possibility of riots that could injure marchers

发生骚乱而伤害游行者

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

从而破坏他们和平抗议的信息的 可能性是一个巨大的隐患。

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

拉斯汀不仅与华盛顿警察局 和医院联合做好准备，

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

还组织并训练了 2000 名 志愿者组成的保安队。

In spite of his deft management,

尽管拉斯汀管理得当，

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

但因为他是同性恋，

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

其他一些组织者不希望他 和南方其他领导人共同走在前列。

Despite these slights,

即使存在这些歧视，

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

拉斯汀集中精力组织活动，

并于游行当天发表演讲，

he delivered the marchers' demands

in a speech directed at President John F. Kennedy.

向肯尼迪总统提出游行者的要求。

The march itself proceeded smoothly, without any violence.

游行本身进行得很顺利， 没有任何暴力。

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

这场游行被认为有助于 1964 年《民权法》的通过，

which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination,

该法案结束了公共场所的 种族隔离，并禁止就业歧视，

and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,

也有助于 1965 年 《投票权法》的通过，

which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.

该法案禁止歧视性投票行为。

In spite of his decades of service,

尽管他服务了几十年，

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

拉斯汀对某些政治问题的立场 在同龄人当中并不受欢迎。

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

有人认为他对越南战争的批评不够，

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

或者说他太急于和政府合作，

including the president and congress.

包括总统和国会在内。

Others were uncomfortable with his former communist affiliation.

其他人则对他之前 曾加入共产党感到不安。

But ultimately,

但说到底，

both his belief in collaboration

他与政府合作的理念

with the government and his membership

to the communist party

以及他曾是共产党的身份，

had been driven by his desire to maximize tangible gains

都是为了最大限度地

in liberties for black Americans,

改变美国黑人自由的现状，

and to do so as quickly as possible.

而且是越快越好。

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

在 20 世纪 60 和 70 年代，几个 有影响力的职位都未选择拉斯汀，

but he never stopped his activism.

但他从未停止过激进活动。

In the 1980s,

在 20 世纪 80 年代，

he publicly came out as gay, and was instrumental

他公开出柜，并一直 呼吁人们关注艾滋病危机，

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

直到 1987 年去世。

In 2013,

2013 年，

fifty years after the March On Washington,

在“华盛顿游行” 50 年后，

President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him

奥巴马总统

the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

在他死后授予他总统自由勋章，

praising Rustin’s “march towards true equality,

赞扬拉斯汀“向真正的平等迈进，

no matter who we are or who we love.”

无论我们是谁，无论我们爱的是谁。”