News first broke that Colman Domingo is set to play gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the Netflix series Rustinall the way back in October 2021, but today we get got our first look at the (Emmy nominated) Euphoria actor in character, and he looks amazing.
For those unfamiliar with Rustin, the series will tell the story of the civil rights mastermind behind 1963’s March On Washington. If his name isn’t automatically ringing any bells, it’s probably because he was largely erased from history for being an out gay man in the 1960s. He endured prejudice, beatings, and arrests over the course of his life, due in part to his sexuality. Despite that, Rustin remains an incredibly influential figure in the civil rights movement and was a close advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.
He dedicated his life to social justice, later in life turning his efforts toward the LGBTQ+ struggle, highlighting its intersection with the civil rights movement. Rustin also brought the AIDS crisis to the attention of the NAACP before he passed away in 1987. He finally received the recognition he deserved when he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2013.
Now his story is finally being told in this Netflix series, with an all-star cast that features Chris Rock (Fargo), Glynn Turman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Audra McDonald (Respect), CCH Pounder (NCIS: New Orleans), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), and Aml Ameen (Yardie) as Martin Luther King Jr. It’s being directed by five-time Tony Award winner and DGA Award winner George C. Wolfe and is executive produced by Higher Ground’s Barack & Michelle Obama, Mark R. Wright, and Alex G. Scott.
Rustin premieres on Netflix in 2023.
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