Bayard Rustin: Love Out Loud
The AACC hosted a documentary about Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was an openly gay, civil rights activist and one of the key strategists in organizing the iconic march of 1963 in Washington, where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He also advised other influential figures at the time on the non-violence values he adopted from studying with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in India. Rustin was always the man behind “great men” and was never publicly recognized for his contributions. He was concerned about his sexuality interfering with the vital and necessary civil rights movements, so he resigned and removed himself for a little while. But, Rustin could not stay away; he eventually came back to the movement to help bring about change in many aspects of civil rights, relating to race and gay rights (Hendrix, 2011).
The year 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the Washington march, and as the nation celebrates the accomplishments of the great leaders of the time, we believe Rustin should receive recognition and credit for all his efforts, which has been long overdue. This documentary is intended to educate people about Bayard Rustin’s contributions and illustrate his journey, dream, and legacy. It is part of a wider, national call to recuperate Rustin’s work with the hope that his contributions will be acknowledged in the March on Washington commemorative activities.