Rustin, directed by George C Wolfe

Author: George C Wolfe. Review by Pete Duckworth.

Bayard Rustin (1912-1987) was a pioneering US Quaker activist for civil rights, nonviolence, and gay rights. He was a pioneer of desegregation, and was beaten and arrested for sitting on the second row of a bus as early as 1942 (this later inspired the Freedom Riders). From 1944-1946 he was imprisoned for refusing military service as a conscientious objector. In 1948 he travelled to India to learn techniques of nonviolent resistance directly from the Gandhian movement. He was always open about his homosexuality despite it being illegal in the USA for most of his life, and was briefly jailed for it in the 1950s. He advised and influenced Martin Luther King Jr, introducing him to the principles of nonviolence. He organised the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In 1964 he organised the widespread high school boycott against segregation. Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Rustin advocated closer ties between the civil rights movement and the Democratic Party, moving from protest into politics. He advocated working class politics and trade union organisation. He opposed identity politics and black nationalism. He turned against communism, even lending critical support to USA involvement in the Vietnam War. Rustin also became a leading voice in advocating for the movement of Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel. He consistently supported War Resisters International. In the 1980s he lent support to the growing gay rights movement, while asserting that his sexuality had never been a prompt for his activism.

How can a biopic, in under two hours, pay justice to a life like Rustin’s? Perhaps this is why this film concentrates almost exclusively on the 1963 Washington March.

Rustin’s controversial openness about his sexuality, and the negative attitudes to this, are made clear in the movie. (So is the ultimate acceptance of him by other activists and the wider movement, despite dreadful slurs against him.)

Rustin is played by Colman Domingo (previously seen in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and If Beale Street Could Talk). Here he gives a convincing portrayal of Rustin’s determination, energy, and commitment, as well as his vulnerability and his arrogance. The comedian Chris Rock stars as Roy Wilkins but is less convincing.

The film addresses the real issues and compromises involved in organising protest, especially the clash between ideals and practicality. Rustin’s Quakerism is referred to but not explored; neither is his later stance over Vietnam and the Black Power movement, which led to accusations of him ‘selling out’.

Rustin is one of my top Quaker heroes, and the film will draw some attention to his influential role in the civil rights movement, which has been rather overlooked. I watched the film with four Friends; we all found it emotional, informative and inspirational. I commend it to Friends who want to explore our history, or are interested in how to organise for change.

Rustin is available now on Netflix.

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