Byron Rushing was born in New York City on July 29, 1942 and grew up in the Bronx before his family moved to Syracuse, where his mother worked as a seamstress. He attended Harvard College in the 1960s, but paused his studies to participate in the Civil Rights Movement, during which he was a community organizer in the Boston, Massachusetts area. He returned to college briefly, studying for a year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of the Community Fellows Program, before taking the reins at Boston’s Museum of American History in 1972. Under his guidance, the Museum successfully raised the funds to purchase and restore the African Meeting House, built in 1806 and the oldest extant Black church building in America.

In 1982, while he was still working as the Museum’s director, Massachusetts’ Ninth Suffolk district elected Rushing to his first term in the Massachusetts Legislature. He represented the district until 2018, when he was defeated in the Democratic primary by Jon Santiago.& During his time in office, Rushing stood as Second Assistant Majority Leader and sponsored many bills advancing civil and human rights. These bills included those to strengthen healthcare protections, address gender based discrimination, and ensure equal access to state programs.

In addition to his governmental service, Rushing is an active Episcopal layman and member of St. John's, St. James' Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was elected lay deputy to the General Convention from 1973 until 2022 and was appointed chaplain to the House of Deputies at the 1994 General Convention, the only layperson to hold this position in church history. He was elected Vice-President of the House of Deputies in 2012, a position which he held until 2022. Rushing has served on multiple boards for Episcopal organizations, including the Archives of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Urban Caucus.