HR 394 — A Resolution designating March 17, 2026, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania.

PRINTER'S NO.    2783

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



           HOUSE RESOLUTION
              No. 394
                                              Session of
                                                2026

     INTRODUCED BY CARROLL, KAZEEM, VENKAT, KRAJEWSKI, PIELLI, HILL-
        EVANS, MADDEN, FREEMAN, KHAN, RABB, OTTEN AND SANCHEZ,
        JANUARY 20, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 21, 2026


                               A RESOLUTION
 1   Designating March 17, 2026, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in
 2      Pennsylvania.
 3      WHEREAS, Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of 12
 4   children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and
 5      WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr.
 6   Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began
 7   through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his
 8   grandmother's participation in the National Association for the
 9   Advancement of Colored People; and
10      WHEREAS, As a teenager, Mr. Rustin's activism included
11   refusing to sit in the segregated section of a cinema,
12   demonstrating his early stand against racial injustice; and
13      WHEREAS, As a young adult, Mr. Rustin worked for the
14   Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), advocating for peace, labor
15   rights and social equality; and
16      WHEREAS, His work included traveling to India to study the
17   Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, further shaping his belief
 1   in peaceful resistance as a means for achieving social justice;
 2   and
 3         WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in
 4   calling for a march on Washington to protest discrimination in
 5   the armed forces and the defense sector, prompting President
 6   Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue an executive order ending
 7   segregation in defense industries; and
 8         WHEREAS, During this period, Mr. Rustin cofounded the
 9   Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in the CORE
10   Journey of Reconciliation, which tested Supreme Court rulings
11   barring segregation in interstate travel and later served as a
12   model for the Freedom Rides of 1961; and
13         WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he
14   was gay, an example of the discrimination he faced throughout
15   his life due to his sexual orientation; and
16         WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King,
17   Jr., to show support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and advocate
18   for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial
19   injustices in the United States; and
20         WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging
21   Dr. King to embrace pacifism as a way of life and was
22   instrumental in making nonviolence a cornerstone of the Civil
23   Rights Movement; and
24         WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and relied
25   on his strategies and organizational skills, which were most
26   notably displayed when Mr. Rustin served as the chief organizer
27   for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and
28         WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became
29   a landmark event credited with facilitating the passage of the
30   Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and

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 1      WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Rustin continued to combat
 2   social injustices, becoming a champion for gay rights in
 3   addition to his work for racial equality and labor rights; and
 4      WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin passed away on August 24, 1987, but
 5   his legacy of nonviolent activism and social justice lives on
 6   among modern-day activists who follow in his footsteps;
 7   therefore be it
 8      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate March
 9   17, 2026, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
10   further
11      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life
12   and significant accomplishments of Bayard Rustin, an influential
13   and often overlooked leader in our nation's history.




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