FictionThatMatters.org

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin.
Produced / Directed by Bennett Singer & Nancy D. Kates
DVD, 2008

Quaker leader Rufus Jones once intoned that pacifism is the “fiery positive”. A pacifist does not sit idly by, according to Jones, but directly engages in the affairs of the world. Bayard Rustin was the very embodiment of the fiery positive. Raised as a Quaker, the African-American Rustin excelled in academics and sports, reciting classical poetry to his football teammates after a hard tackle. He went on to become one of the greatest American human rights activists of the twentieth century. Yet Rustin’s life has not been celebrated for one reason: he was openly gay.

Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin is an award-winning documentary that captures Rustin’s courageous life. Rustin became engaged in activism in the early 1940s, traveling the country lecturing as a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. He went on to study Ghandian principles of non-violence in India and became close advisor to both Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph. His debates about black identify with Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X were legendary. But Rustin’s sexuality – which he embraced publicly – made him vulnerable to divisive politics. King, for example, asked Rustin to step out of the limelight when leaders such as Strom Thurmond attempted to link his homosexuality with the greater civil rights movement. Although hurt by such treatment, Rustin continued to fight injustice until his death in 1987, arguing that gay rights would be the next battleground in the greater struggle for human rights.

Brother Outsider seamlessly intersperses the testimony of numerous experts with Rustin’s own words. Rustin is portrayed as a charismatic, brilliant man who believed in the ability of all people to live together. As if his deeds were not enough, the soundtrack features Rustin singing spirituals from one of his many music albums. Never preachy, this film will play an important step in bringing this luminary from the shadows.

Catch the film on PBS or purchase it at www.rustin.org.

–Deji Olukotun