The Cold Six Thousand - James Ellroy [57]
WJL: And Lyle is—
JEH: Lyle is more impetuous. He drinks more than he should and comes off as a hail-fellow-well-met. The Negroes adore him. He’s convinced them that he’s the world’s most incongruously liberal ex-cop, when in fact that prize goes to you.
WJL: You flatter me, Sir.
JEH: I do anything but.
WJL: Yes, Sir.
JEH: Holly will portray you as a Chicago law-enforcement acquaintance and present the SCLC with documents pertaining to your Bureau expulsion. He will point you to a Negro named Bayard Rustin. Mr. Rustin is a close colleague of Mr. King. He is both a Communist and a homosexual, which marks him as a rara avis by all sane standards. I’ll send you a summary on him, and I’ll have Lyle Holly call you.
WJL: I’ll wait for his call, Sir.
JEH: Do you have other questions?
WJL: On this topic, no. But I would like your permission to contact Wayne Tedrow Senior, on Mr. Hughes’ behalf.
JEH: You have it.
WJL: Thank you, Sir.
JEH: Good day, Mr. Littell.
WJL: Good day, Sir.
DOCUMENT INSERT: 1/11/64. “Subversive Persons” summary report. Marked: “Chronology/Known Facts/Observations/Known Associates/Memberships in Subversive Organizations.” Subject: RUSTIN, BAYARD TAYLOR (male Negro/DOB: 3/17/12, West Chester, Pa.). Compiled: 2/8/62.
SUBJECT RUSTIN must be viewed as a cunning subversive with a significant history of Communist-inspired alliances & as a pronounced security threat, due to his alliances with perceived “Mainstream” Negro demagogues, such as MARTIN LUTHER KING & A. PHILIP RANDOLPH. SUBJECT RUSTIN’S radical Quaker background & his parents’ association with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) point out the extent of his early radical indoctrination. (See Addendum File #4189 on RUSTIN, JANIFER & RUSTIN, JULIA DAVIS.)
SUBJECT RUSTIN attended Wilberforce College (a Negro institution) 1932–33. He refused to join the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) and led (abetted by numerous Communist sympathizers) a strike to protest the allegedly poor quality of food served to students. SUBJECT RUSTIN transferred to Cheyney State Teachers College (Pennsylvania) early in 1934. It is believed that he communicated with numerous notable Negro subversives while at the institution. SUBJECT RUSTIN was expelled in 1936. It is widely assumed that a homosexual incident resulted in his expulsion.
SUBJECT RUSTIN moved to New York City circa 1938–39. He became a member of the so-called Negro “Intelligentsia,” studied the philosophy of MOHANDAS “MAHATMA” GANDHI & described himself as a “Committed Trotskyite.” SUBJECT RUSTIN (a gifted musician) fraternized with numerous white & Negro subversives, including PAUL ROBESON, who have since been identified as members of 114 certified Communist-front organizations. (See “Known Associates,” Addendum File #4190.)
SUBJECT RUSTIN became a member of the Young Communist League (YCL) at New York City College (NYCC) & was a frequent visitor at a Communist cell on 146th Street. He fraternized with Communist folk singers & led a YCL-inspired campaign to protest segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces. In 1941 SUBJECT RUSTIN became acquainted with Negro labor agitator A. PHTLIP RANDOLPH (b. 1889) (see Randolph Files #1408, 1409, 1410). SUBJECT RUSTIN helped to organize the aborted 1941 Negro March on Washington & joined the socialist-pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) & the War Resisters League (WRL). During this time he became a skilled orator and disseminator of Socialist-Communist propaganda.
SUBJECT RUSTIN registered as a conscientious objector with his (Harlem, N.Y.) draft board & was ordered to appear for a physical examination on 11/13/43. SUBJECT RUSTIN sent a letter of refusal (see Addendum Carbon #19) & was apprehended on 1/12/44. He was tried & convicted of violating the Selective Serv. Act (see Addendum File #4191 for trial transcript) & sent’d to 3 yrs in the Federal Penitentiary at Ashland, Ky. SUBJECT RUSTIN led several attempts to desegregate the prison dining hall & was transferred to Lewisburg Penitentiary