Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s personal secretary from 1955 to 1960?
Bayard Rustin was his personal secretary from 1955 to 1960 and was the organizer of the Washington marches. Rustin was a member of the Young Communist League. He attended the 1957 Convention of the Communist Party USA in February 1957. One month later, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) was formed. Before organizing the first March on Washington held in March 1958, Rustin went to Moscow. Rustin, then affiliated with the War Resisters League, also organized the second Washington March held on August 28, 1963. He served prison and jail sentences “for draft-dodging, lewd vagrancy, and homosexual perversion.” 13. Who was Jack O’Dell and what was his relationship to Martin Luther King, Jr.? Jack O’Dell, a.k.a. Hunter Pitts O’Dell, became Martin Luther King, Jr.’s secretary in 1961. As of 1962, O’Dell was a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party, USA, having been a member of the party since 1956. He was made Acting Director of the Southern Christian Lead
