Since the premiere of “Brother Outsider” at the Sundance Film Festival, millions of people have been introduced to Bayard Rustin, who until now has remained somewhat of an unsung hero of the civil rights movement.
“Brother Outsider” is a film about the life of Bayard Rustin, a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the major architects of the 1963 March on Washington. His pioneering activist spirit penetrated his personal life as well, as he was an openly gay man in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The film takes a many-sided approach to Rustin’s life, recreating a chronological and thematic portrait of his 60-year activist career through the use of traditional documentary and interview techniques. Historical research for the film was done by examining Rustin’s personal correspondence, papers, letters, archival footage, government propaganda films, stills, and paintings.
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