An unsung hero of the civil rights movement - Christina Greer

譯者: Bruce Sung 審譯者: Helen Chang

On August 28th, 1963,

1963 年 8 月 28 日，

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

小馬丁．路德．金恩在爭取 工作與自由的華盛頓大遊行中，

at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

發表了他的 「我有一個夢想」演講。

That day,

nearly a quarter million people

當天，

近 25 萬人

gathered on the national mall

聚集在國家廣場，

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

要求結束歧視、種族隔離、暴力，

and economic exclusion black people still faced

以及全美國黑人仍普遍感受到的

across the United States.

經濟不平等。

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

沒有遊行的主要組織者— 貝亞德．拉斯廷，

– a man named Bayard Rustin.

這一切都不可能發生。

Rustin grew up in a Quaker household,

拉斯廷在基督教貴格會 的家庭長大，

and began peacefully protesting racial segregation in high school.

高中時已開始針對 種族隔離作和平抗議。

He remained committed to pacifism throughout his life,

終其一生，他致力於和平主義，

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

還因為反對第二次世界大戰， 拒絕入伍而於 1944 年入獄。

During his two-year imprisonment,

坐牢兩年期間，

he protested the segregated facilities from within.

他在獄中抗議監獄設施的種族隔離。

Wherever Rustin went,

拉斯廷每到一處，

he organized and advocated,

都去組織和倡導，

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

並且了解掌握各地 使用的方法、組織，

who could help further messages of equality.

以及那些能協助推展 平權運動的人。

He joined the Communist Party

當共產黨將美國黑人民權 列為其優先事項之一時，

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

他加入過共產黨。

but soon became disillusioned by the party’s authoritarian leanings

但很快就因共黨的 專制傾而幻想破滅，

and left.

脫離了他們。

In 1948,

1948 年

he traveled to India to learn the peaceful resistance strategies

他前往印度學習 不久前被暗殺的

of the recently assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.

聖雄甘地的和平抵抗策略。

He returned to the United States

返回美國的時候，

armed with strategies for peaceful protest,

他帶回來和平抗議策略，

including civil disobedience.

包括公民不服從運動。

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

1955 年，他開始與 小馬丁．路德．金恩合作，

and shared these ideas with him.

並與他分享這些構想。

As King’s prominence increased,

隨著金恩的聲望地位提高，

Rustin became his main advisor,

拉斯廷成為他的主要顧問，

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

也成了更廣泛的民權運動裡 舉足輕重的戰略家。

He brought his organizing expertise

他的組織專長發揮在

to the 1956 bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama

1956 年阿拉巴馬州 蒙哥馬利的抵制公車運動。

—in fact,

事實上，早在十年前，

he had organized and participated in a transportation protest

他已經在組織和參與交通抗議活動，

that helped inspire the boycotts almost a decade before.

那都有助於激發這場抵制公車運動。

His largest-scale organizing project came in 1963,

他組織過的最大規模活動， 即是 1963 年

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

他領導規劃的華盛頓全國大遊行。

The possibility of riots that could injure marchers

當時最大的顧慮是：如果發生騷亂， 不但可能傷及遊行者，

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

也會破壞他們想傳達的 和平抗議信息。

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

拉斯廷不僅與華盛頓特區 警察及醫院合作準備，

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

還組織培訓了由 2000 名 志願者組成的安全警衛。

In spite of his deft management,

雖然他有靈巧的管理能力， 但因為他是同性戀。

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

有些其他組織者不要拉斯廷

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

和一些來自南方的領袖 一同走在遊行隊伍前列。

Despite these slights,

儘管受到怠慢，

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

拉斯廷仍保持專注， 在遊行那天

he delivered the marchers' demands

他發表了致甘迺迪總統的演講，

in a speech directed at President John F. Kennedy.

道出遊行者的訴求。

The march itself proceeded smoothly, without any violence.

遊行本身進展順利， 沒有任何暴力。

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

一般認為它促成了 1964 年 民權法案的通過，

which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination,

結束了公共場所的種族隔離， 並禁止就業歧視，

and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,

也促成了 1965 年的選舉權法案，

which outlawed discriminatory voting practices.

禁止投票施行上的歧視。

In spite of his decades of service,

儘管他為民權運動服務了數十年，

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

拉斯廷對某些政治問題的立場 並不受他的同儕歡迎。

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

有些人認為他對越戰批評不力，

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

或者覺得他太急於與總統、國會等

including the president and congress.

現有政治勢力合作。

Others were uncomfortable with his former communist affiliation.

也有人因他過去 與共產黨的關係而不舒服。

But ultimately,

但最終，

both his belief in collaboration

不論是他要與政府合作的信念，

with the government and his membership

或是加入共產黨的作法，

to the communist party

都是因為他想要以

had been driven by his desire to maximize tangible gains

最快的方式，

in liberties for black Americans,

為美國黑人爭取到

and to do so as quickly as possible.

最大的實質的自由權利。

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

在 1960 年代和 70 年代，數次 有機會擔任有影響力的角色時，

拉斯廷都被跳過， 但他從未放棄他的行動主義。

but he never stopped his activism.

In the 1980s,

在 1980 年代，

he publicly came out as gay, and was instrumental

他公開了自己是同性戀， 而且直到 1987 年去世前，

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

對引起人們對艾滋病危機的關注 起了很大的作用。

In 2013,

2013 年，

fifty years after the March On Washington,

華盛頓大遊行之後五十年，

President Barack Obama posthumously awarded him

奧巴馬總統追授予他

the Presidential Medal of Freedom,

《總統自由勳章》，

praising Rustin’s “march towards true equality,

稱讚拉斯廷 「大步走向真正的平等，

no matter who we are or who we love.”

無論我們是誰， 也不論我們愛誰。」