The GLAAD Media Award-winning documentary Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, produced and directed by independent filmmakers Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, is set to air on PBS on February 3 at 8 p.m. ET, as a part of the America ReFramed series. The documentary commemorates the life of visionary civil rights and gay rights advocate, Bayard Rustin, who dared to live as an openly gay man during the dangerously homophobic decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
With its release in 2003, Brother Outsider helped introduce a new generation to the powerful legacy of Rustin who was a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, and the man who organized the 1963 March on Washington. Critically acclaimed, Brother Outsider explores both the triumphs and tribulations that Rustin experienced over his lifetime as an openly gay man, revealing him as an iconic figure for social and economic justice.
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and as a part of Black History Month, the film will be returning to public television stations across the United States. In this tenth anniversary edition, director Bennett Singer, acclaimed journalist Farai Chideya, and series host Natasha Del Toro discuss the relationship between the movement for LGBT equality and the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as well as reflect on the ongoing relevance of Bayard Rustin's role in both movements. Check your local PBS listings to catch the film on February 3. For more information and a curriculum guide for educators, visit www.rustin.org.