Bayard Rustin was a visionary, a strategist, and a trailblazer. He was the mastermind behind the 1963 March on Washington, one of the most influential protests in American history. He was also a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., teaching him the principles and tactics of nonviolent resistance. And he was an openly gay Black man, who lived with dignity and courage in a society that rejected and oppressed him.
Rustin’s remarkable story is the subject of a new biopic, Rustin, which premieres on Netflix today. The film, directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground, stars Colman Domingo as Rustin, alongside a stellar cast that includes Jeffrey Wright, Audra McDonald, Chris Rock, and Glynn Turman.
The film focuses on the two months leading up to the March on Washington, during which Rustin and his team of 200 volunteers mobilized 250,000 people to demand civil rights and economic justice. The film depicts the logistical, political, and personal challenges that Rustin faced, as well as the triumphs and joys that he experienced.
Rustin was a complex and charismatic figure, who defied stereotypes and conventions. He was a pacifist and a socialist, a Quaker and a singer, a scholar and an activist. He traveled the world, met with world leaders, and advocated for human rights. He also endured arrests, beatings, threats, and blackmail. He was fired from jobs, banned from organizations, and ostracized by allies. He was constantly forced to choose between his love and his work, his identity and his cause.
Rustin is not the first film to explore Rustin’s life and legacy. In 2003, a documentary titled Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin was released, which won several awards and accolades. In 2013, President Obama posthumously awarded Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the US. In 2021, a musical titled Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland premiered, which dramatized Rustin’s relationship with his partner, Walter Naegle. And a new book, Bayard Rustin: A Legacy of Protest and Politics, edited by Michael G. Long, was published, which collected Rustin’s writings and speeches.
Rustin is part of a growing recognition and appreciation of Rustin’s role and contribution to the civil rights movement and beyond. Rustin was a pioneer and a prophet, who foresaw the intersectionality of race, class, gender, and sexuality. He was a leader and a teacher, who inspired and influenced generations of activists and thinkers. He was a hero and a martyr, who sacrificed and suffered for his vision of a more just and peaceful world.
Rustin is a film that celebrates Rustin’s life and work, and honors his spirit and legacy. It is a film that invites us to learn from Rustin’s wisdom and courage, and to follow his example of love and action. It is a film that reminds us of the power and potential of one person to change the world.
