Bayard Rustin: The Man Who Organized The March On Washington : Code Switch : NPR

Bayard Rustin: The Man Who Organized The March On Washington : Code Switch : NPR: The trailblazing strategist behind the 1963 March on Washington will this year be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That's a long way from the days when civil rights activists counted on Bayard Rustin's hard work, but tried to push him aside because he was gay.

For 60 years, Rustin fought for peace and equal rights — demonstrating, organizing and protesting in the United States and around the world.

'Strategic Nonviolence'

In the summer of 1963, he was the main organizer of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. On Aug. 28, speaker after speaker roused a crowd of 250,000, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., with his seminal "I Have A Dream" speech.

Rustin had less than two months to organize what was the largest demonstration the country had ever seen.