Byron Rushing to Speak At Follen Church Nov. 2

LEXINGTON, Mass., Oct. 14 -- State Rep. Byron Rushing, a long-time leader in the struggle for human and civil rights, and economic justice in Massachusetts, will be the guest preacher at Follen Community Church (Unitarian Universalist) Nov. 2. The service begins at 10:30 a.m.

Follen Community Church (follen.org) is a Unitarian Universalist church in East Lexington first gathered in 1835. It is named for its first minister, the Rev. Charles Follen, a champion of social justice and a leading abolitionist. The current minister is the Rev. Claire Feingold Thoryn.

The church is located at 755 Massachusetts Avenue, near the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Pleasant Street. Parking is available in a lot across the street and in the Waldorf School lot.

In the legislature, Mr. Rushing’s priorities are human and civil rights, and the development of democracy; local human, economic and housing development; and housing and health care for all.

Mr. Rushing, who is majority whip, was an original sponsor of the gay rights bill and the chief sponsor of the law to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in public schools. He also was one of the leaders in the constitutional convention to maintain same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. With Rep. Carl Sciortino, he successfully co-sponsored the transgender civil rights bill. His work in these areas of civil rights is the subject of the short film, “Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight for Fairness.”

He is a spokesman against the restoration of the death penalty in Massachusetts. He leads the effort for size acceptance and anti-discrimination on the basis of height and weight.

Mr. Rushing was a leader of the Commonwealth’s anti-apartheid efforts and is a sponsor of the Commonwealth’s twinning relationship with the Province of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. He is the chief sponsor of the Massachusetts Burma law.

He successfully sponsored legislation to create the Commission to develop a comprehensive plan to end homelessness in the Commonwealth; that Commission which he co-chaired with Undersecretary Tina Brooks released its report and 5-year plan in 2008. The plan has been adopted by the Deval Patrick administration.

Mr. Rushing was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1982 from a work background of community organizing and of Afro-American history. He represents parts of the South End and Roxbury, and serves as house majority whip.

He sponsored the law for the over-the-counter sale of sterile needles and the law creating statewide guidelines for hospitals dealing with violence victims. He is a chief sponsor of legislation for substance abuse “treatment on demand,” He also co-chairs the state’s Health Disparities Council.

From 1972 to 1985, Mr. Rushing was President of the Museum of Afro-American History. Under his direction, the Museum of Afro-American History purchased and began the restoration of the African Meeting House, the oldest extant black church building in the United States. In 1979, Mr. Rushing oversaw the lobbying effort in Congress to establish the Boston African American National Historical Site, a component of the National Park Service. Mr. Rushing led the Museum in the study of the history of Roxbury; the Museum conducted the archaeological investigation of the Southwest Corridor for the MBTA. Mr. Rushing stays involved in this work: as a legislator he sponsored the creation of Roxbury Heritage State Park and serves on its Advisory Committee. He occasionally leads walking tours of African American and working class neighborhoods in Boston and Roxbury.

Born in New York City, Mr. Rushing has lived in Boston since 1964. During the 1960’s he was active in the civil rights movement--working for CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) in Syracuse, NY--and as a community organizer for the Northern Student Movement in Boston. He directed a group of organizers, Roxbury Associates, who helped to found the Lower Roxbury Community Corporation, one of the first CDCs in the nation, and who began some of the earliest organizing in a black community against the war in Vietnam.

An active Episcopalian, Mr. Rushing has been an elected lay deputy to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church since 1973; he was the chaplain to the House of Deputies at the 1994 General Convention--the first layperson to hold this position. In 2012 he was elected Vice-President of the House of Deputies—-the highest elected position held by a layperson in The Episcopal Church.

During all his time in Boston, Mr. Rushing has worked for and with community-based organizations--for greater political participation and against neighborhood debilitation. He serves in his office with an understanding of the history of poor and working class people and with a belief in democratic citizen control.