As you (hopefully) know, Martin Luther King, Jr. (born 1929) was a Baptist preacher, humanitarian, and activist who dedicated his life to the civil rights movement and to improving the lives of black Americans. It was through his non-violent approach to civil disobedience and his unflagging courage and perseverance that desegregation was more widely accomplished in America. He organized the Montgomery bus boycotts and led protests in Birmingham, Alabama, which led to national coverage and brought to light the horrific plight of millions of African Americans around the country.
He is perhaps best remembered for his now famous speech “I Have a Dream,” which he delivered on August 28 at the famous 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
On December 10, 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, and it was only four short years later that he was assassinated on April 4, 1968.
Since today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it seems only fitting that some words be said about Selma, the 2015 biopic about the late civil rights leader.
What makes Selma different from other films about MLK is that it doesn’t focus on Birmingham or Montgomery or even “I Have a Dream,” as one would expect. While all of these events echo loudly in the collective consciousness of this nation, Selma took a different approach. It focuses on King’s life after “I Have a Dream.” It focuses on the non-violent marches that took place in Selma, Alabama, and on King’s undaunted efforts to solicit the legislative and political support of President Lyndon B. Johnson. It focuses on the humanity of Martin Luther King, Jr. the man — the real person who struggled with fear, doubt, fatigue, and temptation. It’s a film that allows both veneration and humanity.
Selma begins (history spoilers?) by pulling no punches, and it shows in graphic detail the KKK’s infamous bombing of the 16th Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that resulted in the deaths of four young black girls. This scene (which is horrifically hard to watch) sets the tone for a no-holds-barred social commentary on the current cultural and racial climate of America in 2015.
Given all of the nationally-covered events that have unfolded in the latter half of 2014, namely the numerous incidents of violence involving policemen and unarmed African-Americans, the events in Selma hit a little too close to home.
For instance, early on in the film, after a non-violent march in Selma is set upon by angry white cops, a 27-year-old named Jimmy Lee Jackson is chased into a restaurant and shot dead at point blank range. He was young, he was black, and he was unarmed. Now, I don’t know about you, but watching this film about racial inequality set in the ’60s and witnessing something that had actually happened 2 months ago was hard to bear.
The only thing I could think the entire time I watched the film was that “nothing has changed,” which is both true and untrue. Obviously, racism and race-relations in America have eased significantly since the 1960s; but, what people often forget is that just because things have gotten better, it doesn’t mean that things are okay where they are.
Institutional racism stopped looking like Jim Crow and “whites only” signs. Institutional racism became “thuggification” and “colorblindness.” It changed its face, and it’s now harder to spot.
Martin Luther King was treated like a terrorist threat, even as he preached peace and non-violence that alienated him from other civil rights leaders. As Selma brilliantly depicts, MLK’s every move was illegally tracked by the FBI at Orwellian Douche J. Edgar Hoover’s behest. King was presented in a respected but human light. He wasn’t deified in this film, and director Ava DuVernay made sure to include the allegations of his infidelity because it made the portrayal of such a legend fully realized.
A man like Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t have to be a saint to change the world because he knowingly and willingly sacrificed his life to help his fellow Americans live in a world that didn’t want them to live.
I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be a part of a generation that lets Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death be in vain. Every #BlackLivesMatter and #Ferguson march, tweet, and protest is part of a larger, important legacy that I refuse to see go unfulfilled.
Watch the trailer for Selma here:
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