Martin Luther King Day: 6 films to understand its importance in the USA

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a national holiday in the United States, celebrated every third Monday of January. This year, the holiday also coincided with the activist's birthday: January 15th.

Martin Luther King Jr. was the main voice of the American civil rights movement between the 1950s and 1960s, when racial segregation and discrimination in the United States were enshrined in law.

The activist's protests, marches, and speeches were instrumental in winning the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the United States, and continue to resonate today, as equality before the law did not end with racism and discrimination in the country.

King was the youngest person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize, in 1964, for combating racism in the USA. He advocated non-violent activism through civil disobedience of discriminatory laws.

In April 1968, King was shot to death while staying at a hotel in Memphis. His death was a landmark and triggered several protests across the country.

A CNN separated five films to learn about and understand the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in the United States.

Check out films about Martin Luther King Jr.:

“Selma: A Fight for Equality”

The film directed by Ava DuVernay follows Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo) during the marches from the city of Selma, in the interior of Alabama, to Montgomery, the state capital, in 1965. The campaign called for guaranteeing the right to vote for African Americans -descendants and was decisive for, a few months later, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to be approved in the country.

The presence of pastor and activist Martin Luther King, who had received the Nobel Peace Prize just a year earlier, did not prevent local police from attacking protesters on the first day of protests, in what became known as “Bloody Sunday”.

The film, nominated for Best Film at the Oscars in 2015, also shows the tension between King and his family, who were constantly threatened by those against his activism.

“Selma: A Fight for Equality” is available on Prime Video.

“King in the Desert”

In this documentary directed by Peter Kunhardt, we can follow the last years before Martin Luther King was assassinated. Through testimonies from close people and friends, as well as never-before-seen images of the activist, we discover more about the internal conflicts he had after becoming the face of the civil rights movement.

Firm in his radical doctrine of non-violence, we discover that King begins to feel isolated and begins to question his own ideas as the war in Vietnam escalates and other aspects of the black movement begin to promote a more combative approach in search of change.

“King in the Desert” is available on HBO Max.

“Rustin”

“Rustin” is a biography that focuses on the story of Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), a gay man and civil rights activist who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King.

In George C. Wolfe's film, we meet a personality less remembered in history. A man who faced racism and homophobia in his fight for equality in the United States and defied authority without apologizing for who he was.

The film was chosen as one of the 2023 favorites by former US President Barack Obama.

“Rustin” is available on Netflix.

“I Am Not Your Negro”

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary in 2017 and narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this feature is based on the unfinished book by James Baldwin. The author endeavored to portray the American social reality through the lives and deaths of three great racial rights activists who were murdered: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., but he was unable to finish the story before his death. .

Director Raoul Peck decides to use this material to make a documentary that links the demands of the black movement in the 1950s and 1960s with the demands that continue today to reflect on racial inequality in the United States.

“Eu Não Sou Seu Negro” is available on Globoplay.

“Infiltrated in the Klan”

Although “Klansman” does not revolve around the figure of Martin Luther King, the film is inspired by the true story of Ron Stalwoth (John David Washington), the first black detective in his city, who managed to infiltrate the extremist white supremacist militia. represented by the Ku Klux Klan.

The story takes place in the 1970s, after King's assassination, in a period in which white supremacists reacted violently against the achievements of the civil rights movement in the previous decade.

The film directed by Spike Lee follows the investigation of Ron, who maintained contact by phone and letter with members of the supremacist organization and had the help of a white police officer to attend face-to-face meetings.

“Klansman” is available on Prime Video.

“The 13th Amendment”

Also directed by Ava DuVernay, this documentary brings together academics, politicians and activists to discuss how justice in the United States meant that the black population remained marginalized even after the abolition of slavery.

Nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary, the film analyzes the correlation between the criminalization of black people and mass incarceration in the USA.

“The 13th Amendment” is available on Netflix.