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Amos Lassen wrote on 05/25/2010:

"Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin"

An Unsung Hero

Amos Lassen

"Brother Outsider" looks at the life of one of the great intellectuals who was non-violent, gay, Quaker and African American--Bayard Rustin. Most of us know little about him and this documentary will tell you a great deal. He was born at a time when no one spoke about being gay and he was never apologetic for who and what he was. He led the Civil Rights march on Washington in 1963 and he had no computer, no cell phone and no fax machine. In the late 30's he had a white partner (another taboo at the time) and he was open about it. He totally believed in non-violence and was a conscientious objector during the second World War and fought against inequality when it was over. He had a great sense of humor, he had an eye for detail, he was totally determined and had an open mind. He was a Renaissance man long after the Renaissance.
The film sent me reading more about him and I learned that his sexuality was not completely accepted by those in the civil rights movement yet he was still able to make significant contributions and this is testimony to his skill, his sincerity and his perseverance.
The well is excellently crafted and it should attract a great deal of attention and bring the issue of African American homophobia to debate. Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer are responsible for this amazing film and they should be very proud. It was Rustin's socially conscious activism that made him who he was.
The directors used archival material and new interviews to introduce us to Rustin. What is especially interesting is that in 1960 at the convention of the Democratic Party, it was Adam Clayton Powell who was drafted to play the gay card against Rustin when they were involved in embarrassing demonstrations there. Powell was going to spread rumors if the demonstrations did not stop and martin Luther King, but not Rustin, buckled.
This is one of those documentaries that is made to teach and you cannot help but learn.