A Bayard Rustin biopic?! We can’t wait to see it.
According to Deadline, Netflix has announced plans to release a biopic about the gay civil rights icon and advisor to Martin Luther King Jr.
The story will follow the life and contribution of the civil rights leader. This could include Rustin’s humble beginnings in West Chester, Pennsylvania; the start of his community organization career through leading a students’ strike while at Wilberforce University; his introduction to non-violent resistance based on writings by Mohandas Gandhi; his mentorship and friendship with Mr. Luther King Jr.; his organization of the 1963 March on Washington; his arrest being caught having sex with two other men in a publicly parked car (a charge that was only removed last year), and more.
Related: The Secret Black Gay Allies Who Bolstered Martin Luther King, Jr.
This upcoming biopic will be directed by Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom director George C. Wolfe. In addition, out writer and producer Dustin Lance Black will pen the script. Plus, Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions will produce the film project under the watch of Priya Swaminathan and Tonia Davis. They’ll be joined by Bruce Cohen and Dustin Lance Black as producers.
This Bayard Rustin biopic stands among several other film projects on Higher Ground Productions’ slate. The list includes Exit West, Satellite, Tenzing, and The Young Wife. All of these projects will air through Netflix.
Source: Deadline,
