In honor of Black History Month, I’m reviewing the middle grade/YA book Troublemaker for Justice: The Story of Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington by Jacqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long, published by City Lights Press in 2019.
Bayard Rustin was one of the key figures in the American Civil Rights Movement and a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was African American, he was gay, and he was unapologetic about both.
I found this to be an incredibly informative book about a man of whom I knew little. The prose is written in a clear, straightforward style, and the pages are filled with historical photos and sidebars of additional details. Rustin’s entire life is chronicled by Houtman and Long with input from Rustin’s longtime partner, Naegle.
The book spans Rustin’s Quaker upbringing through Civil Rights to his work in later years helping refugees around the world. With every page, my respect and admiration for Bayard Rustin grew. I highly recommend this book for kids and adults wanting to learn more about one of the most important activists of the 20th century.
“In today’s political landscape, this volume is a lesson in the courage to live according to one’s truth and the dedication it takes to create a better world.” (Kirkus Review)
Voted a Best Book of the Year by School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews
Fast Facts about Bayard Rustin
- Bayard was raised by his grandparents (Julia and Janifer Rustin) whom he believed for many years to be his parents. His mother was actually, his older “sister” Florence.
- When his school teachers tried to convert Bayard from left-handed to right-handed (as was the custom at that time), Julia told the school to leave Bayard left-handed.
- Bayard had a beautiful tenor singing voice. It won him scholarships, membership in a blues group, and even a short stint on Broadway!
- In 1942, Bayard protested segregation on public buses by sitting in the “whites only” section on a bus from Kentucky to Tennessee. This was 13 years before Rosa Parks.
- Bayard was a strong supporter of Israel and became friends with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. She once made him chicken soup when he had a cold.
- A lifelong pacifist (a product of his Quaker upbringing), Bayard registered as a Conscientious Objector during WWII, and was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing to fight in the military.
- It was Bayard who taught Martin Luther King Jr about non-violent protest. Bayard had learned the value of non-violence from Julia and the teachings of Gandhi.
Marti Johns 