Colman Domingo Brings Queer Civil Rights Activist Bayard Rustin To Life in New Biopic

Colman Domingo is set to bring the life of an oft-ignored civil rights activist to the big screen.

Domingo will star in a film about the life of Bayard Rustin, an out gay man and community leader in the 1960s who was responsible for organizing the March on Washington, according to Vanity Fair.

The film, which is being produced by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, will be directed by George C. Wolfe, one of America’s most celebrated Black playwrights.

Often overshadowed by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to whom Rustin was a trusted friend and adviser, Rustin’s story is one of true commitment to the advancement of Black people in this country.

“He was this big thinker and an incredible organizer, and he was influential to not only Dr. King but all these other young people as well,” Domingo said. “We owe a lot to Bayard Rustin. I think it’s part of my mission to make sure that hopefully, come this fall, there will never be that question again, who Bayard Rustin was.”

For Domingo, it’s a chance to prove he can carry a film as a lead actor after delivering spellbinding and critically acclaimed supporting performances for the last two decades. In sharing the legacy of Rustin, he can also cement his own. “Right now, at 53 years old, I can look at the body of my work and I see its legacy work,” he said. “It’s work that I know that I feel really good about and the imprint that I’m making in the arts.” Taking the driver’s seat to lead a story to its destination feels like “all the lights are on in my house because everyone can see it now.”