Outside of writing for this website, I also teach. And every year, the district that I work for has a Martin Luther King Jr. essay competition that all of the kids must participate in. Without fail, my students groan and say, “Again? Why do we have to do this every single year?” And every year, I say the same exact thing: “We do this annually because this country would be a vastly different place without Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And not a better one.”
And look, I understand their frustration. MLK died long before these kids were ever born. Hell, he died long before I was even born. So, in that way, it makes sense that these kids don’t fully appreciate everything Dr. King lived and died for.
But, that’s where movies come in. Because no matter how many clips I show of Dr. King preaching behind his pulpit, or giving his “I have a dream,” speech, a potent scene from a movie showcasing the trajectory that this country was heading in before Dr. King made waves is often more effective than showing them the real thing.
So, here are some movies (Both featuring Dr. King, and some not featuring Dr. King, but still showcasing the struggle) that you could watch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Selma
The always fascinating Ava DuVernay’s Selma is a bit like Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. I’ll explain. In school, Martin Luther King Jr. is lionized beyond measure. He’s often shown as being a perfect man who was cut down before his time. This is similar to the Christ who is mostly only seen as the Son of God. Now, I’m not trying to get theological here, nor am I comparing MLK to Christ. What I am saying, though, is that we rarely get to see the actual person when it comes to MLK or Jesus. We only see the legend. In that way, both MLK and Christ have become myths for many people.
But Dr. King was a person. And Selma, which came out in 2014, does a great job of showing that. The movie is less a biographical film as it is a story of one specific event—the Selma to Montgomery marches. Selma is such a good movie because we see a Dr. King (played by David Oyelowo) who is not only brave, but also scared.
We see an MLK who most likely cheated on his wife and one who was doubtful if what he was doing was even working. Selma is a beautiful movie, and one that you should definitely check out on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or any day for that matter. The struggle is still alive.
All The Way
I actually saw All The Way – which stars Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston as Lyndon B. Johnson – on Broadway, and it blew my mind. The story concerns a pivotal period in American history when Johnson becomes the acting President after JFK’s assassination. It’s also about how he balances his future as President, while also fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act against his own Democratic Party.
Anthony Mackie also stars as Martin Luther King Jr., and Melissa Leo stars as Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird.
All The Way presents an interesting counterpoint to Selma. In All The Way, we see an impatient MLK who doesn’t think Johnson is doing enough. Inversely, in Selma, we see a tireless MLK and a lax Johnson in Tom Wilkinson (R.I.P. Mr. Wilkinson). I’m really not sure which portrayal is accurate, but maybe watch both movies and decide for yourself.
Boycott
Clark Johnson directs this 2001 HBO Film about a younger Dr. King, played by American Fiction’s Jeffrey Wright. If you’re going to do an MLK marathon (I mean, I know nobody does that, but why not start today?), then I would start with Boycott, move on to All The Way, and then conclude with Selma. Terrence Howard also stars as Baptist Minister and Civil Rights Activist, Ralph Abernathy.
Like the title suggests, the film concerns the famous bus boycott of 1955-1956 that had Rosa Parks at the center of it. In the film, Dr. King takes up the case and it’s basically him against the world. But he doesn’t march alone, of course, and this is a story of that fight.
It’s interesting to see a young Dr. King at work, and Jeffrey Wright plays the role considerably well. And, here’s a fun fact. A young Carmen Ejogo plays Coretta Scott King in this movie, and also plays an older Coretta Scott King in Selma. That’s right, people! This is the real MCU (The Martin Cinematic Universe). Okay, I'll see myself out.
The Rosa Parks Story
I think Boycott is a good enough segue to talk about this TV movie directed by Julie Dash and starring the always magnificent Angela Bassett as the titular Rosa Parks. Likely shown in schools across America, this movie is about Rosa Parks staying seated on a late-night bus, and the events that followed.
The Rosa Parks Story is interesting because it shows Rosa Parks as a more three-dimensional person. We see her joining the NAACP, and the fight she had to go through once the snowball started rolling down the hill. Sure, Rosa Parks could have gotten out of the way, but she didn’t, and we’re all the better for it. Also, The Rosa Parks Story has the most authentic Dr. King since it stars Dexter Scott King, who is MLK’s second son. He has his cadence and everything. It’s beautiful.
Get On The Bus
Speaking of buses (Oh, boy), the always socially relevant Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus is an interesting choice for MLK Day. Like any Spike Lee joint, it features nuanced Black people who are a lot more unvarnished than the historical figures up top.
That said, it’s still a great movie that still works for the holiday. The story features a group of Black men who get on a bus to go to the Million Man March. But on the way, they have discussions on everything from race to sexuality to religion. So, if you want to get a more complex view of the black experience, you might do yourself a favor by watching this film.
Malcolm X
We might as well stick to Spike Lee. Malcolm X, which stars Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, and Angela Bassett as his wife, Betty Shabazz, is a very different film from all the Martin Luther King Jr. biopics up top. It shows a young Malcolm Little getting imprisoned, only to come out a Muslim and the leader of a movement.
From there, we see his rise, and his ultimate fall (From the Nation of Islam). I’d call this an alternative picture to watch on MLK Day to see another side of the struggle.
One Night In Miami
In keeping with movies about Malcolm X is Regina King’s directorial debut, the magnificent One Night In Miami…, which also features actors portraying Jim Brown, Sam Cooke, and Muhammed Ali, who was known as Cassius Clay at the time. The film, which is based off of a play, is a fascinating look at an actual night that the four men spent together, though nobody is entirely sure what the men truly talked about in that motel room.
However, the specifics don’t really matter, as this dramatization is dripping with interesting debates about who is, and who isn’t benefiting the black community, with the audience really left to decide on their own which side they fall on (Or if they fall on both sides). If you happen to be having a discussion on the Civil Rights Movement, and some of the major players who weren’t Martin Luther King Jr., then this could be a fascinating film to watch and discuss. It still leaves me thinking to this very day.
Judas And The Black Messiah
Now that I’ve veered into the territory of revolutionaries, I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up the excellent biographical crime drama, Judas and the Black Messiah, which features “phenomenal” performances by LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya.
Kaluuya plays the Black Panther, Fred Hampton, and Stanfield plays the FBI informant, William O’Neal, who ultimately leads to Hampton’s downfall. Though Fred Hampton’s outlook was different from King’s, he was still a man who believed in solidarity. And, it’s through the lens of the person who brought along Fred Hampton’s downfall that we learn of just how insidious the system was that Dr. King himself also had to struggle against, though through vastly different methods.
Rustin
I’m going to deviate a little bit and talk about a bit of a hidden figure. Because one thing that is really interesting to me is that I had no idea Bayard Rustin even existed until I watched this 2023 movie. But now that I do, I have a new appreciation not only for him, but also for all of the people who often get overshadowed by the BIG NAMES in the Civil Rights Movement.
But just because Bayard Rustin, who was openly gay, isn’t considered to be one of the BIG NAMES like MLK, Rosa Parks, or Malcom X, that doesn’t mean that he was any less important. In fact, you might even say that people like Bayard Rustin who worked to get the famous March on Washington to be a reality might even be more important, given how the organizers were usually the ones who took the most abuse, and got the least amount of credit.
Not only is the film informative, though. It’s also really good! Coleman Domingo is a revelation as Rustin, and the film’s portrayal of Dr. King (played by Aml Ameen) makes this one of the best recent movies to watch about the Civil Rights Movement.
The Butler
And now for something completely different. Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which has an all-star cast including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, and pretty much everybody under the sun (Robin Williams! Alan “Hans Gruber” Rickman…) is a historical drama about a slave who rises to be one of the top butlers in the White House. He also experiences a great deal of joy and pain as he watches his sons in some of the most tumultuous times in American history.
The Butler is a great film to watch on MLK Day because it goes through a great deal of American history but from a unique perspective. It’s kind of wonderful to see the importance that blacks have had throughout the years at the highest level, even when many people saw them at the bottom.
The Hate U Give
In this adaptation of the popular Angie Thomas novel, The Hate U Give is actually a good representation of what Dr. King fought for. Our protagonist is Starr Carter (Bodies, Bodies, Bodies’ Amandla Stenberg), a 16-year-old girl who attends a predominantly white private school, even though she lives in a predominantly Black neighborhood. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the intro, while times have changed, they haven’t changed completely, and after a run in with the law, Starr’s good friend is gunned down by a police officer.
But, here’s the part where Dr. King might have been proud, as Starr stands up for what’s right. And, even though there are elements in her neighborhood who would rather choose violence over peace, Starr is vocal about why a protest doesn’t need guns. It just needs a voice.
Remember The Titans
Finally, I want to close off with my personal favorite movie on this list, Remember the Titans. Directed by Boaz Yakin and starring Denzel Washington, Remember the Titans is about a football coach (Washington) who gets Black and white players on a football team to not only get along, but to love each other and act like true brothers.
Remember the Titans has a great message for the whole family and is a fantastic football movie overall. And with that final entry, I bid you farewell. Na, na, na, na. Na, na, na, na. Hey-ey-ey. Goodbye. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
MLK Day is a day of remembrance for an American hero. We still have a long way to go and I probably won’t even see Dr. King’s dream in my lifetime. But here’s to keeping the hope alive. Take care and be safe.
