A few years ago, I wrote and narrated a TedEd cartoon about the late, great Bayard Rustin. I wanted more people to learn about the African American leader who changed the course of history through his work in various social movements.
Rustin worked tirelessly, often behind the scenes, for the advancement of civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights, to name just a few. Because he was born in 1912, one can imagine the various types of discrimination Rustin experienced throughout his life. Due to Rustin’s sexuality, he often served as an advisor (and not the face) for many domestic and international endeavors.
There is a new movie about the life and work of Bayard Rustin, and I am beyond excited to learn more about this brilliant man who worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement beginning in 1941. If you may recall, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom did not come to fruition until 1963. Rustin consistently pressed for an end to racial discrimination in employment, later organized Freedom Rides, and worked on everything from helping to organize African Americans to integrate unions and serving on humanitarian missions to aid refugees from Haiti, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
On November 17, “Rustin” will have its premiere on Netflix, starring Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen, CCH Pounder, Michael Potts, Jeffrey Wright, and Audra McDonald. This is the first film where Emmy-winning Domingo os the lead and we are indeed lucky as viewers to witness this star shine so bright on the screen. George C. Wolfe serves as the director—you might know his brilliant work from the film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” with Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman.
This star-studded cast tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement and the 1963 March on Washington from a new and different perspective. Many retellings of this story center on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, this film centers Rustin as the strategist and architect of the march that shed a light on the civil rights struggles of African Americans. Organizing and assembling thousands of African Americans in the nation’s capital was no small feat and “Rustin” shows the coalitions, struggles, strategies, and personalities that helped push American democracy forward.
It is imperative we support films like “Rustin” so more stories of lesser-known civil rights icons can be told. We must support films with predominantly Black casts, so studios know there is a want and need for stories beyond superheroes and action films. We must be sure to share this film with friends and family so they can have a better understanding of the past to help direct their steps moving forward into the future.
“Rustin” is in select theaters now and on Netflix beginning on November 17.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023–1924 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.
