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CC- Adoption of a Resolution in Support of the Bayard Rustin U.S. Postage Stamp Campaign.
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Meeting Date: January 14, 2019
Contact Person/Dept: Shelly Wolfberg/City Manager’s Office
Phone Number: (310) 253-6000
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: Lauren Buisson (01/08/19) and (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (01/09/19);
Department Approval: John M. Nachbar, City Manager (01/08/19)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a Resolution in support of the Bayard Rustin U.S. Postage Stamp campaign.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At the City Council meeting of October 8, 2018, Lauren Buisson, requested that City Council consider supporting the Bayard Rustin U.S. Postage Stamp Campaign.
Bayard Rustin was born in Pennsylvania on March 17, 1912 and first became involved in civil rights activism when he moved to New York in the 1930’s. Mr. Rustin was a lead organizer of the 1947 “Journey to Reconciliation”. The “Journey of Reconciliation” was a form of nonviolent direct action to challenge state segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States. The two-week journey by 16 men began on April 9, 1947. It was seen as inspiring the later Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights Movement from May 1961 onward.
Mr. Rustin was a proponent of nonviolence and civil disobedience. He worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a key advisor and leading strategist in the civil rights movement. Rustin supported social justice in various spheres over the span of his life. He worked for the dignity and rights of those who were most disenfranchised-including African Americans, workers, and LGBT people, among others.
Mr. Rustin co-orchestrated the famous 1963 March on Washington, arguably one of the weightiest and most notable displays of collective peaceful protest in U.S. history. As a gay man, Mr. Rustin has not always been recognized for his role as a significant change maker. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama.
In that same spirit, the Bayard Rustin National Stamp Campaign seeks to recognize the exceptional work of this individual by creating a commemorative U.S. Postage Stamp in his honor. The City Council is requested to consider supporting the Bayard Rustin National Stamp Campaign and its efforts to pay homage to the life and work of an American trailblazer. Thus far, the County Board of Supervisors and City Council of the City of Los Angeles (among other bodies) have adopted Resolutions supporting the U.S. Postage Stamp campaign to honor Bayard Rustin. Adoption of a Resolution comports with the City Council’s Legislative and Policy Platform.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
There is no Fiscal Impact to adopt the Resolution.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2019-01-14_ATT_Bayard Rustin Resolution
MOTION
That the City Council:
1. Adopt a Resolution of Support for the Bayard Rustin National Stamp Campaign; OR
2. Provide alternate direction to the City Manager as deemed appropriate.