Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin

The organizer of the 1963 march on Washington D.C., advisor to A. Philip Randolph, and mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin was a complex and controversial but unquestionably key figure in the fight for civil rights for over 40 years. A pacifist who served time for resisting the draft in World War II (yet failed to speak out against the war in Vietnam), Rustin later traveled to India, met with Mahatma Gandhi, and brought home new ideas about non-violent resistance that were incorporated into the Civil Rights movement of the '60s. Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer's Brother Outsider (part of California Newsreel's "Interpreting African American Histories" collection) brilliantly captures Rustin's commitment to justice and human rights, his blazing intellect and charismatic personality, and the one aspect that kept him out of the spotlight: Rustin was openly gay, which earned him public scorn from both black and white detractors. Presenting a fascinating look at the intersection of race, politics, and sexual orientation in the life of a major black activist, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (L. Stevens)