Be the change: A Critique of Our Commitment, by Ankur Asthana
Bayard Rustin: it’s a name that is not particularly well-known to most of us. His contribution to the United States civil rights movement usually receives only surface recognition: “Bayard Rustin was a civil rights activist best known for organizing the 1963 March on Washington where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech.” Yet, it is probably accurate to say that without Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr. may not have become a fierce proponent of nonviolent tactics, and without Rustin, the civil rights movement - though certainly still a powerful force - would not have changed the course of American history as it did.
The example of Rustin - one of the most influential, but least-known civil rights leaders - begs the question: for those of us in this generation looking to ‘be the change’ where does our own commitment really lie? It seems that though we may commit ourselves to working in NGOs, as social entrepreneurs or in social businesses we are often more concerned with our personal experiences and advancement than building a more just world; we struggle between our own ambitions and the selfless objectivity needed to bring about meaningful change. Not everyone could play the role of Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, Rosa Parks or John Lewis in the civil rights movement. Many more had to be just as committed to the movement knowing that they may never receive the same positions of leadership or “personal success” that those individuals did. Yet, their contributions were as important (and in some instances, even more important) as those leaders to building a better world.
Bayard Rustin spent a good part of his younger years as a pacifist activist, and traveled to India to learn from Gandhian disciples. In 1956, following Rosa Parks courageous refusal to surrender her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, a series of boycotts erupted. Rustin traveled to Montgomery to help infuse the core ideals of non-violence into these efforts. A story from the book “Lost Prophet,” illustrates how essential Rustin’s presence was:
There were guns lying all about King’s house, and Rustin often recounted a humorous incident with himself and Bill Worty. As Worthy…prepared to sit on one of the chairs in King’s living room, Rustin called out to him, “Bill wait, wait. Couple of guns in that chair. You don’t want to shoot yourself!”
The idea of Martin Luther King having guns around his house may seem to be an oxymoron, but it also highlights just how important Rustin’s guidance were in those early periods of civil rights efforts in building a nonviolent movement. Today, Rustin’s name may not be familiar, but his impact - from non-violent protest as a key tactic, to the formation of the SCLC, to the March on Washington, to the linkages of the civil rights efforts to broader economic and social justice efforts - reverberates throughout the United States and many parts of the world.
Martin Luther King Jr. has many well-known speeches and sermons. One that is slightly less known is his “Drum-Major Instinct” speech. The “Instinct” that he refers to is the “desire in all of us to be first.” It seems that our generation needs to be able reach beyond this “Drum-Major Instinct” to dedicate ourselves to a broader cause. Just as Bayard Rustin was able to bring about tremendous change in a selfless manner, what our generation needs is continual discernment of the motivations that drive our actions while maintaining a commitment to bringing about great change.
The Author
Ankur is a rising senior at Northwestern University majoring in biomedical engineering. He is currently taking a year off from school to work full-time for GlobeMed, a network of students advancing the movement for health equity. Working with communities in rural Panama on various engineering projects, and having a summer internship at Global Health Delivery Online has heavily influenced Ankur’s thoughts about issues of poverty, structural violence, and development. Ankur is originally from the small town of Menomonie in Wisconsin, believes that Taco Bell is infinitely more satisfying than Chipotle, and enjoys a competitive game of Super Smash Brothers anytime. He also blogs at Students for Global Health Equity.
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