Brother Outsider: The Life of Freedom Fighter Bayard Rustin

Overall Thesis:
- This documentary shares the story of Bayard Rustin’s life centering
around his advocacy for nonviolence, gay rights, and social justice. It
highlights his activism and struggles as a black gay man in America.
Introduction:
- Thesis: This section introduces Rustin’s background sharing his
upbringing in Pennsylvania while highlighting his early influences in
activism and pacifism.
- Born in West Chester Pennsylvania in 1912 when Black people were not
allowed to go to restaurants or movie theaters
 But could use the same bathroom as white people
 Went to a KKK parade in elementary school
 Raised by his grandma who raised him to stand up non-violently
- Went into a restaurant 3 police surrounded it and got arrested on
purpose
 Appealed that al black people and white people with a decent mind
should give 10 cents to get him out of jail, which worked
- He was a gay male and enjoyed being with the guys at school parties
- Went to Wilbur Forrest University in 1932
 Organized a strike to improve their food and got kicked out
- Moved to Harlem in 1937 to live with his sister
 Joined Hosh White’s quartet
 Made enough money to go to city college
- In city college he met young white and black people who were
members of the Communist League, and he joined as an organizer
 Joined the league in 1938 but withdrew in 1941
- Was under surveillance from the FBI because they believed there was
going to be a revolution
- Worked with A.J. Muste at the Fellowship of Reconciliation
 Never knew his father and was taken on by A.J Muste
 travelled around the country on assignment to send messages of
love and nonviolence
 In the early 40s while travelling in Tennessee he sat at the front of
the bus and police came and dragged him out of his seat
 Did the bus thing before Rosa Park
- Feburary 12, 1943 he was being watched during a meeting by agents
of the New York office
 He refused to register to fight in the war and pushed others to burn
their draft cards
 He was arrested and sentenced to three years in a federal prison in
South Ashland, Kentucky
 Then went to a medium custody prison called Louisburg
 Strong position against segregation in federal prisons
Civil Rights and Action
- Thesis: this section shares Rustin’s work with civil rights leaders and
highlights his advocacy for nonviolent action.
- After he got out of jail the African American labor leader A.Philip
Randolph asked him to work with him
 This is where he learned the use of nonviolent mass action and the
importance of the labor movement as a tool for racial uplift
- A.J put pressure onto Bayard to give up being gay because he believed
it was a threat to his effectiveness
- When on a trip for the Fellowship of Reconciliation to test racial
discrimination laws
 Was convicted on April 17th, 1947, for sitting with a white man on a
public bus
 Was sentenced to 30 days of on the road, road work where him and
others were chained together working 10-hour days
 After he wrote about his experience for the New York Post as a result
the chain gang was discontinued
- Went to India in 1948 to attend the first World Pacifist conference
- January 21st, 1953, he was arrested as a suspected sexual pervert and
was charged with lewd vagrancy; sentenced 60 days in county jail
 Because of this he was thrown out of the FOR
 Had to see a psychiatrist and asked for his story to be told
- Was involved in nonviolent protests in Montgomery
 Went there to give advice to Martin Luther King about how to
conduct nonviolent campaigns
 He was like an older brother to King
- Planned a massive civil rights demonstration in LA to force the
Democratic Party to take a stand on civil rights
 King was put against him by someone making a threat to spread a
rumour that they were in a relationship, so King cut ties with Bayard
which really hurt
- Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat up to a white man
 42,000 blacks boycotted the buses
 Bayard removed himself for this movement because he did not want
his sexual history to jeopardize anything
 Black people were urged to return to using the buses on a
nonsegregated basis
- First march on Washington was in 1941 to pressure Roosevelt to give
blacks opportunities but was called off by Randolph
- Due to his sexuality, he was sidelined and threatened a lot for it to be
exposed
- Dr. King was the deputy director of the march and the one credited, but
Bayard was the one who thought of it all beforehand
 They came back together before the march and worked together
 Had 200,000 people to do the march demanding for effective civil
rights legislation, public accommodations, decent housing,
integrated education, and FAPC, and the right to vote
 - Vision of the Civil Rights movement was set up by Bayard and King
delivered his I Have a Dream speech
 It woke up America, and the President taking the movement to a
new level
 As it turned, he knew he had to turn to politics, had to go from
marching in front of things to marching to the ballot box
- Organized a memorial march for Kings assassination
- People saw him as weak because he always wanted to negotiate
- Never knew where he was going to be he was always doing something
 Worked for Sophia Jury
 Travelled to Israel
 In refugee camps in Thailand
 Helped refugees from Cambodia
 He helped and travelled many places before he died

Reflection:
- Through watching this documentary, I was intrigued to hear how
Bayard was the one who thought about the march first and his
connection to Dr. King. It was an eye opener to learn that King caught
all the attention and even to this day is known for the marched that
changed black peoples lives but Bayard’s name never being
mentioned. It also was shocking to learn that he did the bus thing
before Rosa Parks and is not credited for that. When looking at him
compared to other Black activists in this course such as Frederick
Douglass Bayard had to fight harder due to his sexuality. Although he
was born free like Du Bois, he still had it hard because anytime he
wanted to fight it was hard for others to listen. This put into
perspective for me even more the struggles black people had to go
through and the courage and strength it took for them to continue.
When reading “Remembering Bayard Rustin”, it was refreshing to see
my thoughts on paper. The way it described that the March on
Washington happened because of him, and his way of leading
nonviolent protests was refreshing to see him get credit. Bayard made
many things happen and I am glad I got to learn beyond the surface of
how different movement and change came about.