What role did Bayard Rustin play in the Civil Rights Movement?

• A. He led armed defense squads in several communities.
• B. He organized international trade missions.
• C. He wrote fiscal policy analysis for the movement's funding.
• D. He organized nonviolent strategic planning, including planning the March on Washington.

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how nonviolent strategy and large-scale mobilization were organized. Bayard Rustin was a master planner of nonviolent action within the Civil Rights Movement. He helped design and coordinate the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, bringing together a broad coalition and shaping the event as a peaceful, disciplined demonstration aimed at pressuring for civil rights legislation. His work focused on how to carry out civil disobedience and mass protest without violence, handling logistics, messaging, and coalition-building that made the march effective and widely legitimate. This is why the description that highlights organizing nonviolent strategic planning, including the March on Washington, best captures his role. The other activities—leading armed defense squads, organizing international trade missions, or writing fiscal policy analyses—do not align with his focus on nonviolent strategy and mobilization.