The Life of the "Invisible Man" of the Civil Rights Movement Exposed in "Brother Outsider"

Metuchen, NJ, June 26, 2010 --(PR.com)-- Passion River Films is happy to announce that “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin” is set to hit the street on July 6, 2010. A film by Bennett Singer and Nancy Kates, “Brother Outsider” illuminates the public and private lives of Bayard Rustin, a visionary activist who has often been called “the invisible man” of the civil rights movement.

“Brother Outsider” tells Bayard Rustin’s story by focusing on his activism, his position as an indispensable mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. and his organization of the legendary 1963 march on Washington. Rustin’s story is extraordinary, as he dared to live as an openly gay man during the ragingly homophobic 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

“Brother Outsider” reveals the price that Rustin paid for his honesty, chronicling both the setbacks and triumphs of his remarkable career. Rustin’s voice as well as other first-person voices contrast with excerpts from Rustin’s FBI files, which present J. Edgar Hoover’s view of Rustin as a “suspected communist and known homosexual subversive.” The film creates an aesthetic that reflects Rustin’s position as an outsider, a troublemaker and an eloquent speaker who refused to be silenced.

Rustin was one of the great intellectual activists who was not afraid to overcome social taboos. Not only was he gay in a time when nobody spoke about it, but he also had a white partner. While Rustin was not accepted by everyone -sometimes not even his fellow Civil Rights activists- he always worked his hardest to make contributions to the movement. Rustin’s story comes together on film to create a “potent and persuasive piece of historical rediscovery.”

Mat Levy
Passion River Films
(732)321-0711 ext. 135

416 Main Street 2nd Floor
Metuchen, NJ 08840
Mat@passionriver.com
www.passionriver.com

Contact: Mat Levy
(732)321-0711 ext. 135
Mat@passionriver.com

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