Friday, January 15, 2021, marks what would have been the 92nd birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of America’s most esteemed and visible activists in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Dr. King was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, when he was just 39 years old, but his message and memory have carried on to this day, and are echoed by the ongoing efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement. However, throughout the years, King’s family and successors have been adamant that the Baptist pastor, who advocated for nonviolence and civil disobedience, be remembered by his full message and not mere platitudes.
“Dear politicians/political influencers: When you tweet about my father’s birthday, remember that he was resolute about eradicating racism, poverty & militarism,” King’s daughter, Bernice King, tweeted on Friday. “Encourage & enact policies that reflect your birthday sentiments.
Protests in response to racial injustice and police violence have sparked across the nation in recent years, with the latest large-scale demonstrations following the death of George Floyd last year. Many are also turning to movies, television, music and more to provide information, clarity and perhaps even necessary discomfort about the civil unrest and systemic injustices that have been a part of America since its very birth as a nation.
Over the past decade, a new generation of filmmakers have told stories of police brutality and racial injustice through real-life adaptations and groundbreaking documentaries, hoping to shape hearts and open eyes as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to push for change, reform and justice for all.
From groundbreaking directors like Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins, and Ryan Coogler; adapted from the works of James Baldwin, Bryan Stevenson and Angie Thomas; tackling topics like systemic racism, law enforcement bias and the prison-industrial complex, these are just a few of the recent works that have helped to tell the story of racial inequality in America.
The story of the man himself, Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed and Academy-recognized breakthrough film tells the story of Dr. King (played by David Oyelowo) and the civil rights movement of the mid-1960s. The film centers around the historic Selma-to-Montgomery march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the marchers were gassed and beaten by Alabama State Troopers. The aftermath of this march, which became known as Bloody Sunday, led directly to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Selma was nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song — “Glory,” by Common and John Legend — at the 87th Academy Awards. It also received four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor, and won for Best Original Song.
Based on the 1974 James Baldwin novel of the same name, Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk is a story about a love strong enough to overcome even the most heartbreaking adversity. The 2018 film features stunning breakout turns from KiKi Layne and Stephan James — as a young couple torn apart by racial bias and the unjust legal system — and an Oscar- and Golden Globe–winning supporting performance by Regina King.
If Beale Street Could Talk was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Screenplay at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, and Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score at the 91st Academy Awards.
Black Panther director Ryan Coogler made his stunning feature film debut with 2013’s Fruitvale Station, which tells the real-life story of Oscar Grant (played by Michael B. Jordan), a young man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009 by police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland, California.
The film, which also stars Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly and Octavia Spencer, uses real footage from the night of Grant’s death and a celebration of life ceremony his family held on New Year’s Day 2013. Fruitvale Station won the award for Best First Film at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
