About This Lesson
Bayard Rustin was a leading American civil rights strategist during the 1950s and 1960s, who was best known for organizing the March on Washington in 1963. In the classroom-friendly excerpt found *here* and the article originally published in WORLDVIEW magazine in 1978, Rustin reports on meeting with refugees from recent wars in Southeast Asia. He exhorts America to open its doors, and makes a special appeal to his fellow African-Americans, declaring: "Black people must recognize these people for what they are: brothers and sisters, not enemies and competitors."
The article has been chosen to use in the classroom as its arguments are timeless. Refugees today can still be considered "invisible people," just as they were in the 1970s. Why do we choose to ignore their suffering? What can we do to help? Why do we choose to help some but not others? When should we prioritize domestic problems over those more desperate abroad? All of these questions can be considered while reading this article as well as more specific discussion and critical thinking questions. For the original document, please click here.
This worksheet is great primary source document for a U.S. history course.
