Richard Rusk facts for kids

Richard "Rich" Geary Rusk (March 30, 1946 – January 28, 2018) was an American activist. He worked to protect the environment and remember important historical events. He also started the Moore's Ford Memorial Committee.

Early Life and Activism

Rich Rusk was born in Washington, D.C. His father, Dean Rusk, was the United States Secretary of State. Rich grew up in Washington and New York. His father was very busy with government work. Rich remembered feeling a bit lonely as a child.

After high school, Rich joined the Marine Corps. He trained as a sharp-shooter. He did not fight in the Vietnam War. Later, he went to Cornell University to study political science.

In 1967, his sister Peggy married a Black man. This was a big news story at the time. Rich supported his sister's marriage. He said they had a "terrific marriage."

Opposing the Vietnam War

Rich Rusk disagreed with the Vietnam War. His father, Dean Rusk, was a main supporter of the war. This caused tension between them. Rich often invited anti-war friends to their home. His father would joke, "Park your signs in the umbrella rack!"

Rich chose not to join anti-war protests. He loved his father, even though they disagreed. However, the stress of the war deeply affected him.

In 1970, Rich and his father stopped speaking for 14 years. Rich felt his father was responsible for the war. He decided to move far away. He chose Alaska.

Life in Alaska

From 1970 to 1984, Rich lived in Nome, Alaska. He worked in construction and edited a local newspaper. He was very adventurous. He once walked across St. Lawrence Island by himself. He also taught English to local Inuit children. Rich loved hunting and fishing in Alaska. He had a son, Ryan, with Linda Gologergen. Later, he married Frances Louise Mitchell and had two more children, Andrew and Sarah.

Reconnecting with Family

In 1984, Rich and his family moved to Athens, Georgia. He wanted to make up with his father. His father, Dean Rusk, had said he would never write his life story. But to reconnect with Rich, he agreed.

Rich recorded his father's memories. His father was blind by then. Together, they created the book As I Saw It, published in 1990. Rich wrote introductions for each chapter. He sometimes disagreed with his father's views in the book.

Rich noted that his father's ideas about the war had not changed much. He felt his father struggled to show emotion. Rich described the book as a way for them to find common ground.

The book's release got a lot of attention. Many saw it as a sign that the pain from the Vietnam War was healing. Rich was seen as rebellious, while his father was quiet and formal. Historians praised Rich's work. They said he helped people understand his father better.

In Athens, Rich worked as a truck driver and for a local newspaper. He continued to oppose the Vietnam War.

Remembering History

In 1991, Rich married his second wife, Janice Lanford. While working for the newspaper, he learned about the Moore's Ford lynchings. This was a terrible event from 1946. Four Black people were killed by a mob.

Rich became very focused on this event. In 1997, he started the Moore's Ford Memorial Committee. He wanted to remember the victims and push for justice. He was inspired by Desmond Tutu from South Africa. Tutu spoke about the need for truth and healing.

Rich said starting the committee was hard. He felt like he was "dragging up a racial atrocity." The committee worked to fix the victims' graves. They also started scholarships for Black students. They held art shows to raise awareness. Rich even arranged a proper military funeral for George Dorsey, a World War Two veteran who was lynched.

In 1998, Rich gave a speech. He asked people to remember the fear of the past. He called for racial healing. He believed honoring the victims would make America better. His efforts led Georgia to put up a historical marker in 1999.

In 2007, Rich's committee found new evidence. FBI files suggested that a former governor might have been involved in the lynchings. Rich believed many officials were part of a "conspiracy of silence."

Rich expanded his work. He investigated hundreds of lynchings across Georgia and the U.S. He felt America was ready to face its history. In 2002, he appeared in a documentary called Strange Fruit.

In 2003, he founded the Southern Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This was also inspired by South Africa. Rich's work gained media attention. He said lynching was "terrorism." He believed America needed to face its own history of terror.

Rich also volunteered after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He helped build homes for people who lost theirs.

The Sam Hose Lynching

In 2007, Rich helped a group in Newnan, Georgia. They wanted to remember the Lynching of Sam Hose from 1899. Rich spoke to a journalist about it. The story became front-page news.

This caused a lot of debate in Newnan. Many people wrote angry letters. They said Sam Hose was a murderer. Rich helped create a website section for discussion. He argued that no one deserved to die like Sam Hose. He also said that many people killed in lynchings were innocent.

Rich met with people in Newnan. He realized many white people had a biased view of the event. He also admitted that the strong reactions made him rethink some of his own ideas about Hose's innocence.

In 2007, Rich also investigated a mass lynching in Watkinsville, Georgia. Nine men were taken from jail in 1905. Eight were lynched. Rich wanted to place tombstones on their unmarked graves.

Environmental Activism

Rich Rusk was a keen fisherman. He was active in groups like Trout Unlimited. He also founded the Georgia Climate Change Coalition. He believed climate change was harming trout in Georgia's rivers. He argued that protecting fish was important for tourism and the environment.

Rich said his father told him before he died that climate change would be the biggest challenge for future generations. Rich wrote that he didn't act right away. But when trout started dying in Georgia streams during droughts, he got involved. He saw fish dying in warm, low water. This made him realize the problem was serious.

In 2011, Rich protested against efforts to deny climate change. He said the effects of climate change were already happening. He constantly pushed politicians to do more. He said, "For us, trout are the canaries in the mining shaft." This means trout dying are a warning sign.

In 2012, Rich encouraged people to join the Georgia Climate Change Coalition. He said the community had many talented people. He wanted them to work together on climate issues. Chris Wood, a leader at Trout Unlimited, praised Rich. He said Rich was a "happy warrior" who used facts and always appealed to people's good side.

In 2014, Rich spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C. He protested the Keystone pipeline. He said pollution and climate change affected fish. He also led a bicycle ride to protest a natural gas pipeline. He felt older people had a big duty to address climate change.

Rich Rusk passed away in 2018. After his death, he and the Georgia Climate Change Coalition received the Alec Little Environmental Award.