Films to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a teen, I was so outraged that my school refused to recognize Dr. King’s Birthday as a National Holiday that I convinced all the people of color at my school to stay home in protest.  Everyone came to my house. Our protest was short-lived when the school called my Mom and told her I wasn’t there.  She phoned the house, heard us all having a great time and told me and my friends tho hightail back to school.

Years later, I would write, direct and produce a two-part documentary as my senior project at Howard University all about the Making of the King Holiday.  It goes without saying that my gratitude and passion for what this man represented in our community and our society are immeasurable.

Here are some flicks to check to honor and celebrate the life and legacy that were and ARE Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

SELMA – By visionary director Ava Duvernay and starring the brilliant David Oyelowo, Selmas chronicles the events leading up to the legendary march in Selma.

 

FREEDOM ON MY MIND –

This Academy Award-nominated documentary about the Civil Rights Movement won the award for Best Documentary at Sundance in 1994. The film centers on the efforts to register African-American voters in 1960s Mississippi and the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. One critic summed it up best by saying the film, “illuminates the most significant years of the Civil Rights Movement.”

Boycott
This television film stars Jeffrey Wright as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The film is based on the book Daybreak of Freedom by Stewart Burns and tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts.

 

The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306
A documentary short film released in 2008, The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 commemorated the 40th annual remembrance of MLK. The film was nominated for an Academy Award in 2008. It highlights the events of that fateful day when Martin was shot outside of Room 306 at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis.

Our Friend, Martin
This is an animated film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Two best friends travel through time and meet MLK at different points during his life. It features an all-star voice cast including John Travolta and was nominated for an Emmy award.

MLK/X

Just in time for Black History Month, this brand new series in Nat Geo’s “Genius” franchise, MLK/X follows both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) and Malcom X (Aaron Pierre) from their formative years, where they were molded by strong fathers and traumatic injustices, to their rich, parallel stories as they shaped their identities and became the change they wished to see in the world.

Release date – February 1st on Nat Geo/Hulu