Sunday, October 12, 2003, 5:30 PM
Cinema 21

Bayard Rustin was a giant of the civil rights movement. He was there at most of the important events of the Movement – but always in the background. One of the first “freedom riders,” an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King and A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the March on Washington, intelligent, gregarious and charismatic, Rustin was denied his place in the limelight for one reason – he was also openly gay. BROTHER OUTSIDER: THE LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN presents a vivid drama, intermingling the personal and the political, about one of the most enigmatic figures in 20th-century American history. Truly a remarkable historical figure, Rustin began his civil rights work with an interest in the communist party in the 30s but soon moved on to pacifist labor movements and at one point went to India to learn non-violent protest from Ghandi before settling into the Civil Rights Movement. All the while openly admitting his sexuality. BROTHER OUTSIDER features amazing archival footage of some of the legends of social justice movements including Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Ghandi, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez. Finally, Rustin is getting the recognition he deserves as leader of social justice and gay rights.

Dirs. Nancy Kates & Bennett Singer
2002 USA Video 84 min English