At first, Lenny Kravitz was a little surprised that he didn’t already know more about Rustin’s central character, the beloved yet comparatively unsung civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. But after watching the biopic starring Colman Domingo and now on Netflix, Kravitz knew he needed to be involved. “I said, If I don’t know about Bayard Rustin as I should, there are a lot of folks that certainly do not,” he told Vanity Fair in a recent phone call. A short while later, he sat down behind his piano and out came the opening strains of “Road to Freedom,” an original song that plays over the film’s end credits.
Rather than take a wide view of the civil rights leader’s life, director George C. Wolfe’s film focuses instead on one pivotal moment in his career: The months that led up to the 1963 March on Washington. It follows him from the genesis of the idea for a historic demonstration in the nation’s capital to its fruition, illustrating the difficult and often thankless job of political organizing with propulsive pacing. The score—by legendary jazz musician Branford Marsalis, his second collaboration with Wolfe, after Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom—ebbs, swells, and jitters as actor Domingo masterfully channels the late activist’s cool spirituality and madcap energy. The characters frequently break into song, reflecting the centrality of gospel hymns to the Civil Rights Movement.
So, the final scene, which shows Bayard holding a trash bag and beginning to clean up after the conclusion of the historic march, sets a challenging task for “Road to Freedom.” It’s a humble moment, full of spiritual portent and triumph, but it calls for ambivalence. Openly gay and free with his opinions, Rustin was often forced to the outskirts of the Civil Rights movement, including a meeting with the president that’s taking place at the film winds down. That complicated moment called for laid-back confidence and fiery passion in equal measure, so it isn’t hard to understand why Kravitz was asked to write a song that would capture it all.
The musician spoke to VF about the lessons he learned from the film and the process of writing and recording the song in his Parisian home studio.
Lenny Kravitz: Isn’t the film beautiful?
Vanity Fair: It was very inspiring!
George really directed that thing so well, and Colman embodied Bayard Rustin in such an elegant, powerful way. Just such a soulful performance. I was honored to be asked to contribute to this film, and I’m so glad that I did.
When you were approached, what was your brief? What were they expecting?
I got a call from one of the producers, Bruce Cohen, who was saying that they would like me to write a theme for the film. I was in Paris at the time, at home, and so they sent me the film, and I watched it. I fell in love with the film. I knew that it was something I needed to do immediately because I did not know that much about Bayard Rustin. I thought that was absolutely shameful. I grew up in a family that was involved in the civil rights movement—my mother was involved, and I grew up around all these people in the late ’60s. I was a small child, yes, but I don’t remember hearing about Bayard Rustin.