18 Civil Rights Movies to Watch on MLK Day
'Selma'
Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma takes us through the iconic marches from Selma to Montgomery led by MLK and directed by civil rights leader James Bevel to protest against voting discrimination. These marches managed to put enough pressure on Congress and President Lyndon Johnson that the Voting Rights Act was signed into law that year, so suffice it to say that DuVernay picked one of the most consequential moments in civil rights history to make a movie about.
'Malcolm X'
You can't talk about Martin Luther King Jr. without talking about Malcolm X. Directed by Spike Lee, Malcolm X depicts some of the most pivotal moments in one of the most famous figures in the civil rights movement.
'Judas and the Black Messiah'
Director Shaka King really knows how to sow tension and distrust on the big screen—and Judas and the Black Messiah is 126 minutes of nothing but that. This biopic follows Fred Hampton, chair of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party before his death, as he is sold out to the FBI by informant William O'Neil after he infiltrates the Illinois BPP.
I love LaKeith Stanfield but I had a really hard time loving him after watching this, to be honest.
''Mississippi Burning'
Alan Parker's crime thriller, titled after the codename given to the FBI investigation, tells the heartbreaking story of the murders of civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan.
''One Night in Miami'
What would happen if you got Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke all in a room together? You'd get One Night in Miami, Regina King's feature debut as director. The film is a fictional rendering of an actual meeting between the four friends on February 25, 1964, in which they discuss the civil rights movement, freedom, and loyalty.
'Rustin'
Produced by Higher Ground (Barack and Michelle Obama's production company), Rustin tells the story of Bayard Rustin, a civil rights activist who helped organize MLK's famous March on Washington in 1963. This movie is energetic, uplifting, and witty as hell.
'Till'
Yeah, if you just want to get absolutely emotionally wrecked, director Chinonye Chukwu's Till will do the job. The film tells the infamous true story of Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, as she seeks justice for her 14-year-old son's brutal murder and kidnapping.
'Harriet'
Directed by Kasi Lemmons, Harriet takes us on one of the most epic journeys with the Harriet Tubman as she escapes from her own shackles to guide hundreds of slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
'To Kill a Mockingbird'
Though this classic story took place decades before MLK made his mark on the world, the systems of oppression that plagued the South in the 1920s were the same ones civil rights activists were up against forty years later.
'Fences'
Denzel Washington directs and stars in this searing story about a 1950s family man whose bitterness leaves him isolated and rejected by the ones he loves the most. It's a testament to the lasting effects of racial injustice and persecution—anger and resentment that only appear skin deep, while the pain infects deep beneath the surface.
'Loving'
Loving, directed by Jeff Nicholas, tells the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving, who were criminally charged with interracial marriage in 1959. The two, with the help of the ACLU, sued and took the fight all the way to the Supreme Court, resulting in the landmark decision Loving v. Virginia, which ruled laws banning interracial marriages to be unconstitutional.
In the Mood for a Civil Rights Documentary Instead?
'I Am Not Your Negro'
via Magnolia Pictures
Ooooh, I gotchu. Here's a quick list of some of my favorite documentaries about civil rights.
I Am Not Your Negro
James Baldwin's words have never sounded more powerful.
MLK/FBI
This doc digs into the government's involvement in MLK's assassination.
John Lewis: Good Trouble
We miss him big time and the good trouble he made in the civil rights movement andin Congress.
13th
Ava DuVernay left NO CRUMBS with this banger about how the prison industrial complex affects the black community.
4 Little Girls
Spike Lee's chilling doc about the infamous 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that resulted in the deaths of four young girls at the hands of the KKK.
Stamped from the Beginning
This is a beautiful doc based on Ibram X. Kendi's book of the same name that explores how racist ideas have been perpetuated in the U.S.
Summer of Soul
What was the biggest musical event in 1969? You probably said Woodstock, but Questlove's doc tells the story of the Harlem Cultural Festival, which took place at the same time as Woodstock but is rarely talked about despite having acts like Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Nina Simone.
What titles would you add to my list of civil rights movies?
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