The Multicultural Resource Center is hosting a screening of the documentary “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin” at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 18, in the Cone University Center, Room 320.
The free, public screening, part of the N.C. Activist Series, explores the life and legacy of Rustin, considered a critical member who helped plan the original 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. “Brother Outsider,” a documentary by Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, follows Rustin’s journey to fight racism alongside Martin Luther King Jr. while exposing Rustin’s struggles as an openly gay man. Since its debut at the Sundance Festival in 2003, the film has received multiple awards, including the 2004 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.
Joshua Burford, assistant director for sexual/gender diversity for the Multicultural Resource Center, said it is important for people to see this documentary because it shows a “point in history where the African American and LGBTQ communities intersect.”
While Rustin’s leadership was not as visible as other well-known leaders in history, he changed the whole course of the Civil Rights Movement, stated Burford.
In “Brother Outsider,” viewers will watch as Rustin, a recent recipient of the Presidential Award of Freedom, overcomes the many obstacles he faced due to his race and sexuality. The documentary incorporates archival footage, stills and interviews to depict Rustin’s journey to overcome inequality.