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. 

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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. 

I gave Colman a call just out of respect, because he had just embodied this character, and I asked him what he thought, just any ideas. He thought about it for a moment. He said, “The only thing that I can tell you, the thing that is coming to my head is—it’s about the work.”

What did that mean to you? The film really gets into the nitty gritty of planning that march, and it helps you understand why Rustin was committed to the movement despite the pain and real lack of acceptance.

Remember how egoless he was at the end of the film? That’s the moment where he could go to the White House and get some recognition. Instead he grabbed that garbage bag and that pick, and said I’m going to go and clean up because they need help, I’m not worried about basking in the spotlight. He knew what the true light was, which was doing the work and not worrying about anything else.

That’s in the chorus of the song: “We’re on the road to freedom until the war is won. We’re on the road to freedom, there’s so much work to be done.” That is very important because we are still on that road, and we will continually be on that road. We just need to stay on it and be diligent. Seeing him walk off into the sunset with his garbage bag, saying we must uplift and keep it going—it was just so beautiful. 

Did the song and its lyrics come to you quickly? It has the simplicity and feel of a good idea striking at the right moment.

I thank God that I was used properly—and that’s the thing, I mean it when I say being “used.” Once I watched the film, once I spoke with George, once I spoke with Colman, I had to just sit and get quiet. I don’t normally sit down to write, I just live. I’m an antenna, and I wait to pick up whatever is out there. This time, I got quiet and sat for a couple days and just said, Okay, God, just give me whatever it is I’m supposed to get. Lemme pick it up. And it came. I sat at the piano one afternoon. I felt like something was coming. I felt something coming in, and I sat down and played the first chords, and I knew I was on the path. That's how it works for me: take it in and get quiet and let it come to you.

The wonderful thing about my house is that I have the whole house wired, so I can record anywhere in the house. I have these beautiful rooms that are just acoustically magnificent. So I recorded the piano in this beautiful big room that has these super high ceilings and beautiful reverb, and recorded the drums in another room that is just beautiful sounding. So I just recorded it home, and then I brought the gospel choir in.

How would you summarize that emotion that hit you and made you feel like you had get involved? What did you learn from watching the movie?

Anything is possible no matter who you are, even if you’re not accepted. Because remember this man, think about it being an openly gay Black man at that time. My God, you’re struggling with everybody, including your own people. We all have a purpose, and we all have a strength, so be true to yourself. 

The other thing I like is that the longer we live, the more truth comes out about things—about what really transpired. There are many stories to be told about people that did not get recognized for beautiful things that they’ve done, based on their not being accepted. So the longer we live, I hope that more of these stories continue to come out about people that we don’t know about, that we should know about, that helped to shape our world. It’s nice to break down barriers.