Although his name isn’t as well known as it shoulld be, Bayard Rustin was a vital figure in the civil rights movement in the US in the 1960s. Now Variety reports that three producers; Daniel Permut, Daniel Sladek and Chris Taafe; have joined together to try and bring a biopic of the man to the big screen.
Civil rights seem to be quite popular in Hollywood at the moment, with several films about the era in the works, incluing a biopic of Martin Luther King and a film about the historic marches in Selma, Alabama in 1965. However Rustin is a particularly interesting figure, as he was the main organisor of the legendary 1963 March On Washington, which resulted in the first civil rights legislation. Before that, he was one of key figures in raising the profile of civil rights issues, organising early Freedom Rides long before it became a hot button topic.
He also travelled to Indian to learn firsthand about Ghandi’s non-violent tactic, and it was Rustin who counselled Martin Luther King on them when he returned. However despite his impact, he was a controversial figure even within the civil rights movement, due to the fact he had previously belonged to the Communist Party and was open about the fact he was gay.
As a result some people wouldn’t work with him at all, and his influence was always felt more behind-the-scene than in front of it, because of worries that his public presence would undermine efforts for equality (pro-segregationists did indeed like to point him out, as if his presence undermined the entire civil rights agenda). He later became a prominent gay rights activist.
There’s certainly a lot of material for a fascinating film. The civil rights movement was a political hotbed, and few movies have looked at this aspect of it. Rustin was an intriguing figure on this score, because of the argument that went on around him, even though few could doubt his effectiveness at getting the issues on the table.
The producers may have difficulty getting funding for a film like this, but let’s hope they do.