BAYARD RUSTIN: THE LOST PROPHET

He was one of the leading figures in the American civil rights movement. Yet the works and vision of Bayard Rustin have remained a largely untold story. Acclaimed historian John D’Emilio seeks to change that with his new book Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin (Free Press, 2003).

D’Emilio chronicles the significant role Rustin played in bringing the civil rights movement to the forefront of public consciousness. He also discusses the role Rustin’s homosexuality played in shaping both his career and others’ opinion of him.

Lost Prophet, which has been selected as a 2003 National Book Award finalist, is the “full and remarkable story of Rustin’s intertwined lives: his pioneering and public person and his oblique and stigmatized private self,” the publisher points out. “Rustin remained until his death in 1987 committed to the causes of world peace, racial equality and economic justice.”

A longtime friend and supporter of the AFT and a confidante of its late president Albert Shanker, Rustin is credited with being the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. “The dynamic that has motivated Negroes to withstand with courage and dignity the intimidation and violence they have endured in their struggle against racism may now be the catalyst which mobilizes all workers behind demands for a broad and fundamental program of economic justice,” Rustin wrote just prior to the historic march.

In his review of the book for the Los Angeles Times, Tom Wicker wrote: “… D’Emilio succeeds in detailing a highly useful life and—a prime task of biography—in redeeming a nearly forgotten figure and assigning him a proper role in an era that becomes more beclouded and mythologized with every passing year.”

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION

For the past 12 years, the National Teachers Hall of Fame (NTHF) has paid tribute to the teaching profession by annually honoring five of the nation’s most outstanding educators. To date, 60 teachers from 25 states have been inducted into the hall of fame.

You may nominate yourself or another teacher. Applications for the 2004 National Teachers Hall of Fame Induction Program are available online at www.nthf.org or by calling 800/96-TEACH. Candidates must be a certified preK-12 teacher and have at least 20 years of full-time teaching experience. Nomination packets must be completed and postmarked by Jan. 6, 2004.

Located in Emporia, Kan., the nonprofit NTHF is dedicated to promoting education and to inspiring others to enter the teaching profession. NTHF encourages organizations and individuals to support its efforts. For more information, contact NTHF at the number above.

Porter Scholarships available

Applications are being accepted for the AFT’s Robert G. Porter Scholars Program. The program offers four $8,000 scholarships for high school seniors graduating in 2004 who are dependents of AFT members and who intend to pursue a career in labor, education, healthcare or government. Also offered are 10 grants of $l,000 for AFT members to pursue further study in their field of work.

The Porter Scholars Program was established in 1992 to honor the late Robert G. Porter, who served as AFT secretary-treasurer from 1963 through 1991.

Members may download the application from the AFT Web site at www.aft.org/scholarships or e-mail porterscholars@aft.org. Members who do not have access to the Internet may mail a postcard or letter (no phone calls, please) to the Robert G. Porter Scholars Program, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20001. Applications must be postmarked no later than March 31, 2004.

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