Text of PA HR 86 (2025)

PRINTER'S NO. 716 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 86 Session of 2025 INTRODUCED BY CARROLL, KENYATTA, KRAJEWSKI, SCOTT, SMITH-WADE- EL, MADDEN, ISAACSON, VENKAT, OTTEN, MAYES, HILL-EVANS, SAPPEY, RABB, FREEMAN, SANCHEZ, HOHENSTEIN, GUENST, BOROWSKI, MALAGARI AND ABNEY, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 21, 2025 A RESOLUTION Designating March 17, 2025, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania. WHEREAS, Born March 17, 1912, Bayard Rustin was one of 12 children raised by his grandparents in West Chester; and WHEREAS, It was at his family home in West Chester that Mr. Rustin's lifelong commitment to nonviolent activism began through both a Quaker upbringing and the influence of his grandmother's participation in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and WHEREAS, As a teenager, Mr. Rustin's activism included refusing to sit in the segregated section of a cinema, demonstrating his early stand against racial injustice; and WHEREAS, As a young adult, Mr. Rustin worked for the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), advocating for peace, labor rights and social equality; and WHEREAS, His work included traveling to India to study the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence, further shaping his belief 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 in peaceful resistance as a means for achieving social justice; and WHEREAS, In 1941, Mr. Rustin served as a principal leader in calling for a march on Washington to protest discrimination in the armed forces and the defense sector, prompting President Franklin D. Roosevelt to issue an executive order ending segregation in defense industries; and WHEREAS, During this period, Mr. Rustin cofounded the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participated in the CORE Journey of Reconciliation, which tested Supreme Court rulings barring segregation in interstate travel and later served as a model for the Freedom Rides of 1961; and WHEREAS, In 1953, Mr. Rustin was fired from FOR because he was gay, an example of the discrimination he faced throughout his life due to his sexual orientation; and WHEREAS, In 1956, Mr. Rustin met with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to show support for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and advocate for the use of nonviolent tactics in protesting racial injustices in the United States; and WHEREAS, Mr. Rustin's influence was monumental in encouraging Dr. King to embrace pacifism as a way of life and was instrumental in making nonviolence a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement; and WHEREAS, Dr. King worked closely with Mr. Rustin and relied on his strategies and organizational skills, which were most notably displayed when Mr. Rustin served as the chief organizer for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; and WHEREAS, The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom became a landmark event credited with facilitating the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and 20250HR0086PN0716 - 2 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Rustin continued to combat social injustices, becoming a champion for gay rights in addition to his work for racial equality and labor rights; and WHEREAS, Bayard Rustin passed away on August 24, 1987, but his legacy of nonviolent activism and social justice lives on among modern-day activists who follow in his footsteps; therefore be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate March 17, 2025, as "Bayard Rustin Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it further RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the life and significant accomplishments of Bayard Rustin, an influential and often overlooked leader in our nation's history. 20250HR0086PN0716 - 3 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13