Menu
Help
Close

Synopsis

A movie about the life of Civil Rights organizer Bayard Rustin. Bayard Rustin was an american Civil Rights and Gay Rights activist. Born in 1912 in West Chester, Pennsylvania Bayard was heavily influenced by his Grandmother's Quaker Beliefs which included Civil Rights and Pacifism. He became an activist from an early age even joining the Communist Party as a youth but soon left over there support for World War II. He traveled to India where he studied non-violent protest and civil disobedience from Mahatma Gandhi himself. Later when he returned to America he continued his fight for Civil Rights. He met Martin Luther King Jr. and taught him the non-violent philosophy he learned from Gandhi. The two soon became allies and close friends in the struggle for civil rights as Bayard organized several important civil rights demonstrations. But their partnership and friendship suddenly ended in 1960 when Adam Clayton Powell Jr. a black minister and congressman from New York threatened that if King didn't cut all ties with Rustin he would reveal Rustin's 1953 arrest in Pasadena for having sex with another man in a parked car. It was an open secret in civil rights circles that Rustin was gay but this had been the first time a fellow civil rights activist had used that against him. He also threatened to tell the press that King and Rustin were gay lovers. King reluctantly agreed and distanced himself from Rustin who would later resign from the SCLC the organization he and King had founded. But Rustin was far from done with civil rights activism. Three years later Black Activists planned to March on Washington to protest segregation and there was only one logical choice over who should organize it. Bayard Rustin. Although Senator Strom Thurmond tried to discredit the march by calling Rustin a communist and a homosexual it didn't change anything. Thanks to his help the March on Washington went off without a hitch and became one of the most important moments in American History. Bayard would continue to fight for civil rights and eventually gay rights until his death in 1987.
Join the Conversation

0 comments on this role

Leave a Comment

Fan Casting Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Role added by sofly on November 6, 2018

Back to Top Make Suggestion
Description of Adam Clayton Powell Jr.:

Something of a villain, Powell is a minister and Black Congressman representing Harlem in Congress. His motivations for threatening to out Rustin are unclear. Some say he wanted to stop a march that King and Rustin were planning at Democratic National Convention because he was worried they'd embarrass the candidates. Others say he was just homophobic.

 

CONTRIBUTE

Do you know the perfect person for this role? Use the form below to make a suggestion!

Suggest someone for this role:
Advanced Search
Physical Appearance of Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
  • Gender: add
    -
    Submit
  • Hair Color: add
    -
    Submit
  • Hair Length: add
    -
    Submit
  • Eye Color: add
    -
    Submit
  • Ethnicity: add
    -
    Submit
  • Body Type: add
    -
    Submit
  • Facial Hair: add
    -
    Submit
  • Age Range: add
    -
    Submit
  • Nationality: add
    -
    Submit

Join the Conversation

0 comments on Adam Clayton Powell Jr.

Post

Newest Stories

Ready to move onto another story? Here are a few more to browse. Assemble your dream cast!

See More