Film Pick of the Week: Rustin - review by Yvette Huddleston

A significant figure in the movement, Rustin was a close friend of and adviser to Martin Luther King and was behind one of the key events in the long campaign. He organised the 1963 march on Washington DC for Jobs and Freedom which proved to be a major turning point. The peaceful protest, attended by an estimated 250,000 people, is credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 2013 Rustin was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in America, by the then US president Barack Obama (who is credited along with his wife Michelle as executive producer on the film).

As a gay Black man and a committed left-wing advocate for social justice, Rustin (an outstanding performance by Colman Domingo) faced discrimination on several fronts. While he was always open about his sexuality, he was living in an era when same-sex relationships were illegal and those who opposed him politically used his openness and honesty in this regard against him. He refused to be cowed and was tireless in his activism for the rest of his life.

In the opening scenes, a rift opens up in the friendship between Rustin and Dr King (Aml Ameen) when King is put under pressure by others in the movement who, with barely disguised homophobia, advise him to distance himself from Rustin. It is a deeply wounding moment for Rustin when he hands over his resignation letter, confident that his friend will back him up and reject it, only for King to accept it.

It sets him back for a while, but then Rustin bounces back and sets to organising the march, galvanising and inspiring his team of enthusiastic young volunteers. With dogged determination, he campaigns, disseminates information and unites African-American people and their supporters from across the country who are hungry for change. All the while there are figures both on the outside and within the movement who would like to see him fail.

It is clear that Rustin was both a force of nature and a force for good who had an absolute, unwavering belief in humanity and the power of non-violent collective action. Domingo’s potent yet sensitive portrayal is a rousing, extremely affecting tribute to his life and work.