Byron Rushing

(Episcopal News Service) Byron Rushing, a three-time vice president of the House of Delegates and a legislator from the Diocese of Massachusetts for nearly 50 years, was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts during its annual Bill of Rights Dinner on October 22.

Rushing was born in 1942. During the 1960s, he was active in the Civil Rights Movement. From 1972 to 1985, he was president of the Boston Museum of African American History. During his tenure, the museum acquired and began restoring the African Meeting House, the oldest surviving black church building in the United States and now a National Historic Landmark—something he lobbied for.

Rushing served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1983 to 2018. The ACLU of Massachusetts’ Facebook page says Rushing’s legacy includes “major victories in the areas of LGBTQIA+ rights, homelessness and public health, anti-discrimination and more.” »

The post added: “We can’t wait to honor this local legend!”

In the Episcopal Church, Rushing served as a delegate to the Massachusetts General Convention from 1973 to 2022, and in 1994 he became the first lay person to serve as a chaplain in the House of Deputies.

He also served as a member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, and when his last term as vice-president ended, the members of the Chamber of Deputies passed a resolution expressing appreciation for his years of service to that church and to the Episcopal Church.

A founding member of the Episcopal Town Meeting and former board member of the Episcopal Church Archives, he is featured in the Leaders’ Gallery of a special section of the digital archives entitled “The Church Awakens: African Americans and the Struggle for Justice.”