Bayard Rustin: Brother Outside

The “unknown hero” of the civil rights movement

Bayard Rustin, was a brilliant organiser of the US civil rights movement, an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and was one of the key organisers of the 1963 March on Washington, yet his name is relatively unknown.

He brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the American civil rights movement, and worked with Dr King to promote the idea of nonviolence and peaceful demonstrations.

Despite these achievements, Rustin was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. Rustin was African-American, Communist, gay and a pacifist and the target of persecution on many fronts.

Many still struggle with the issues Bayard Rustin sought to change. His focus on civil and economic rights and his belief in peace, human rights and the dignity of all people remain as relevant today as they were in the 1950s and 60s. The “unknown hero” has reclaimed his rightful place in civil rights history. In November 2013, he was posthumously awarded by President Obama the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US’ highest civilian honour.

Bayard Rustin’s dramatic story remains a universal symbol for people fighting for social justice everywhere and is retold in the highly acclaimed Brother Outside.

An exclusive screening is taking place on Saturday 14th June at 3.00pm at The Club Theatre, RADA Studios, 62-64 Gower Street, London, WC1E 6ED

Tickets cost £5 and can be booked by clicking here

Francine Fernandes