This Monday is a day to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If you’re looking to continue your education or explore King’s legacy, scroll below for twelve films and documentaries focusing on Martin Luther King, Jr., activism, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Selma
Starring: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Carmen Ejogo, Common
Ava DuVernay’s drama tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to secure equal voting rights.
I Am MLK Jr.
A documentary exploring the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his impact on civil rights today.
King in the Wilderness
Kunhardt Films
Chronicling the final years of his life, this documentary follows King during the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to his assassination in 1968.
One Night in Miami
Starring: Leslie Odom, Jr., Kingsley Ben-Adir, Aldis Hodge, Eli Goree
Amazon Prime’s new drama about a fictionalized meeting between Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke as they discuss being successful black men during the civil rights movement.
Freedom Riders
The story of American civil rights activists who challenged a segregated interstate travel system in the 1960s.
4 Little Girls
Spike Lee’s documentary about the 1963 murder of four African-American girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama.
King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis
Commonwealth United Entertainment
This Oscar-nominated doc follows King’s rise from regional activist to world-renowned leader of the Civil Rights Movement.
MLK/FBI
IFC Films
Based on newly declassified files, 2020’s documentary explores the U.S. government’s surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Butler
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda
Follow Cecil Gaines during his tenure as a butler at the White House, going through the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events. (Based on the real life of Eugene Allen.)
Freedom Song
Starring: Danny Glover, Vicellous Reon Shannon, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Loretta Devine
Based on true stories of the Civil Rights Movement, this drama tells the story of Black Americans registering to vote in the fictional town of Quinlan, Mississippi.
The Long Walk Home
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Sissy Spacek
Two women in Montgomery, Alabama — one black and one white — must decide what they’re going to do in response to the bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Soundtrack for a Revolution
This documentary focuses on the struggles fought by young African-American activists during the Civil Rights Movement, with an emphasis on the power of music.
