Martin Luther King Jr. is a household name today. The American Baptist minister and social activist-led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States in the 1950s. He is often quoted from his iconic speech “I Have a Dream,” which he delivered during the 1963 March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
His activism for the civil rights of people of color through nonviolence and civil disobedience achieved pivotal legislative gains in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. In 1964, he was given the Nobel Peace Prize.
King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968, while he was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
His role in the ending of legal segregation enforced by Jim Crow laws throughout the country, is remembered today not just through literature that documented the period but also through other media of popular culture like movies and television series. We will revisit some of the most popular representations of him ahead of MLK Day, which serve as a testament to his enduring legacy and struggle for civil rights that is prevalent even today.
Movies on MLK
One of the most indelible representations of MLK is brought about by films, in which his life dotted with watershed moments in history is depicted.
Arguably the most notable of them all is the 2014 film “Selma,” directed by Ava DuVernay. The soul of the movie lies in the three 50-mile marches attempted by the Civil Rights Movement from Selma across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to Montgomery, the capital of Alabama.
With David Oyelowo portraying King Jr., “Selma” evinces the way the events in the Alabama city built up the momentum leading to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
“Selma” is a historical narrative but also gives us a look inside King Jr.’s personal life, humanizing him in a way that makes the audience relate to his struggles. What makes the film stand out is its aversion to a hagiographic portrayal of King Jr. but instead looks at him as a multifaceted individual with fears and the grit to overcome them. DuVernay’s style pans in on the legend, his wife Coretta Scott King, his brothers and comrades in arms, and his very own inner turbulence.
While “Selma” has its own fan base, films like “Boycott” (2001), “King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis” (1970), “Bringing King to China”(2011), “In the Hour of Chaos” (2016) and “MLK/FBI” (2020) offer unique perspectives on MLK’s life and ensures that his achievements are not reduced to a monotonous narrative.
“Boycott” tells the story of the 1955–1956 Montgomery bus boycott, and won a Peabody Award “for refusing to allow history to slip into ‘the past,'” while “Bringing King to China” is a documentary film made by Kevin McKiernan and three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. It focuses on an American woman’s attempt to bring the international premiere of Clayborne Carson’s play “Passages of Martin Luther King” to China’s National Theatre Company.
Other documentaries include “MLK/FBI,” following King Jr. as he is investigated and harassed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its first director J. Edgar Hoover, and “In the Hour of Chaos,” which traces the life of King Jr.’s father Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. (“Daddy King”). It comprises first-person narration from autobiographies and biographies about King Sr., family attorney Murray M. Silver, and relatives.
The documentary “King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis” portrays MLK’s biography and his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. We also see an animated version of King Jr. in “Our Friend, Martin,” a 1999 animated children’s educational film about King Jr., released three days before his 70th birthday.
Television Series that showcased MLK
The small screen has also been a platform for portraying King Jr. and his impactful life. “King,” a 1978 television miniseries is based on his life and aired on NBC in 1978. It comprised figures from the Civil Rights Movement like the then Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson, MLK’s sister Christine King Farris, and his four children: Yolanda, Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice.
The 1987 documentary series also focused on MLK’s leadership and the obstacles he faced along the way, using archival footage and interviews for its storytelling.
The popular show “The Simpsons” also dedicated an episode, titled “I Have a Dream” in 2002, to pay tribute to King Jr.’s legacy and how his teachings had an impact on the show’s characters.
King Jr. and the written word
MLK’s life has made its rounds on the written word through biographies, autobiographies, and academic writings. “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.,” compiled and edited by Clayborne Carson, give us a firsthand account of his life through his writings and speeches.
Historical novels like “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett shed light on the experiences of African American maids in the 1960s, and hold references to King Jr.’s influence on the Civil Rights movement. Some of the chapters zoom in on the world outside of Jackson, Mississippi, as the Civil Rights Movement gains momentum.
Singing through history
Numerous songs have been written about King Jr.’s legacy, the man who was a fan of jazz and gospel himself. While Mahalia Jackson sang “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” at his funeral, Nina Simone introduced “Why (The King Of Love Is Dead),” to the audience at The Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, just three days after King was murdered.
Meanwhile, the Irish rock band U2’s song “Pride (In the Name of Love),” written about MLK, was released as its lead single in September 1984. They also wrote “MLK,” an elegy song that featured on their 1984 album, “The Unforgettable Fire.”
King Jr.’s life and exploits also inspired “One Vision,” a song written and recorded by the British rock band Queen, released in November 1985, with imagery of a man striving against odds. Folk songs like Patty Griffin’s “Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)” eulogize King Jr.’s famous 1968 “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, which he gave the day before his assassination.
More contemporary renditions include “MLK interlude” by Justin Bieber, highlighting an excerpt from MLK’s sermon “But If Not,” which originally took place at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in April 1967.
What we watch, read and hear today
While these representations of MLK in popular culture spark debates on oversimplification or distortion of historical facts, ethics and commodification of his image, it is undeniable that these portrayals serve as a historical record and keep alive contemporary discourse on civil rights and social justice.
The Black Lives Matter movement drew inspiration from the movement and King Jr.’s leadership and thus, the role of popular culture as a bridge between history and the present fosters a collective unity in activism and advocacy for justice.
