Hey, everyone. We're coming up on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which always makes me picture the March on Washington.

Yeah, I was actually down on National Mall recently. And when I'm there, I always think of that day, August 28th, 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the iconic I have a dream speech.

But I don't only think of him anymore, because as we know, there was another man behind that speech, behind the scenes of the entire civil rights movement.

Yep, fired Rustin.

So in our final chapter of our History Rhymes series, we meet the man behind the March, a man whose name deserves knowing.

He grows up the same things that white citizens possess. All of their rights. Freedom now movement, hear me. We are requesting all citizens to move into Washington, to go by plane, by car, bus, to where we didn't.

50,000 people, black and white, marched on the nation's capital.

And nationalized this southern freedom struggle. It was really glorious.

August 28th, 1963, the March on Washington, lives in many of our minds as a single moment, a single voice, a single dream.

But what you probably don't know is there's a man standing behind Martin Luther King Jr. as he's making this speech, just a few feet to his right.

He's tall, thin, wearing thick, black-frame glasses. And this moment would never have happened without him.

His name?

Byer, byer, byer, byer, byer, Rustin.

I'm Ramteen Arableui.

I'm Ramdab Ndfetah.

And in this episode of Thurline, from NPR, the man behind the March on Washington.

I'm Ramteen Arableui.

I'm Ramteen Arableui.

This is Walter Neagle. And that voice, singing, was Byer, Rustin.

I met Byer, Rustin in mid-April of 1977.

Just so happened, we were on the same street corner waiting for a light to change.

And we looked at each other and suddenly lightening struck.

...