"Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin" on LOGO

Bayard Rustin—the civil rights organizer and top lieutenant to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—is finally receiving much of the recognition that he deserved. Tonight and throughout the week, gay-themed LOGO screens Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, the documentary that explores his many accomplishments and exposes why so little is reported of him in black history—because he was openly gay.

"It wasn’t something he focused on, but I think there was a general feeling that had he not been gay, the way he was able to save lives in the movement, or ascend to a leadership position [wouldn’t have had as many] obstacles," says Walter Naegle, Rustin’s surviving partner, who will speak on Wednesday in Atlanta on Rustin's legacy.

Rustin was a gifted political strategist and superb orator, undoubtedly one of the most prominent black gay figures of the 20th century for his instrumental role in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, most notably organizing the famous 1963 March on Washington where Dr. King delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech.

As a form of narration, Brother Outsider relies on the FBI's chilling and extensive surveillance records of Rustin. The reports document a 1953 arrest for lewd vagrancy in Pasadena, California, where the police caught Rustin performing oral sex in the backseat of a car\—with two men. His subsequent arrest and 60-day prison sentence was an albatross around his neck, and often exploited by whites who were opposed to civil rights and black leaders who were jealous of MLK's prominence.

The documentary also details one little-known fact: Rustin was briefly separated from Dr. King's campaign because Rep. Adam Clayton Powell threatened to expose a fabricated sex scandal between the two.

Later in life, Rustin became a gay activist and said the discrimination against gays and lesbians needed to be addressed with the same passion that was used to oppose Jim Crow. "The barometer of where one is on human rights questions is no longer the black community," he said in 1986, one year before dying. "It's the gay community. Because it is the community which is most easily mistreated."

A Little Background ...
Black Museums Should Celebrate Gays [R20]
Billy Strayhorn Documentary on PBS [R20]
Brother Outsider Screenings [R20]

Comments

[Mel Smith]

EVERY black gay person should know something about Bayard Rustin. He was one of the greatest human rights leaders that ever lived. If you know about Dr. King, you should no something about Bayard Rustin. Rod thanks for sharing this great information.

[Maurice]

Thanks for sharing. Bayard Rustin's life gives me hope and inspiration.

[KG]

Great post!

Not only was he one of the most prominent gay black figures of the 20th century, but a prominent black figure.

A friend of mine interviewed the makers of this extraordinary film, heres the link.

http://www.wiretapmag.org/race/43331

[Andy Niable]

Every PERSON, black or gay or otherwise, should know about Rustin. It's a fine documentary.

[taylor Siluwé]

And I must also praise LOGO for airing this documentary. So many of us grew up not knowing of Rustin's brilliance, or his gayness.

Some say his sexuality was aside from the point. This is true. However in a world which is still as homophobic as ever, todays black youth need to know that the man who was responsible for organizing the '63 march on Washingtion where Dr. King had the opportunity to deliver his historic 'I have a dream' speech was a gay man, and proudly so.

It is sad that so many in 2008 still live in fear of being who they are, when Bayard Rustin did it in the 1930's, 40's and 50's and didn't give a shit who didn't like it.

Truly a great man, and role model for us all to embrace our sexuality ... and screw the haters.

[Dluv]

Aside from his political life, I like how the documentary showed Mr. Rustin as a beautiful, stylish, worldly, sophisticated black gay man who was just as charasmatic as Dr. King. That's the way I want to be when I grow up! ;-)

[Beki]

I am so happy that this show is being aired!! Wouldn't it be great if we could get this show into public schools?

[Derrick from Philly]

We all agree Bayard Rustin was a hero. What strikes me is the relationship between Rustin and Clayton Powell. Powell seemed ruthless in his hatred for Rustin. Even though Powell ended in disgrace, for years he was a hero among Black Americans all over the country. To think he allowed his own petty insecurities and ego drive him to try to humiliate Bayard Rustin and Dr. King.

I never know whom I'm more bitter towards: the guys in the hood (North Philly) who were loud and violent in their contempt for openly gay people, or the educated, middle-class guys who always greeted gays with a smirk and an attitude of contemptuous superiority--the ones like Powell. My highschool was full of guys like Powell...good ol' Central High.