I Am MLK Jr. (2018)

From blackwiki
Revision as of 06:18, 15 March 2021 by Al (talk | contribs) (→‎References)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

I Am MLK Jr. was released on April 4, 2018. in the USA. The American film was produced by Network Entertainment. The movie storyline was written and directed by John Barbisan and Michael Hamilton. The movie was displaying the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. and his legacy on civil rights of African Americans[1].

Plot

Martin Luther King Jr. in one of the footage[2].

The film shows how the social life of King started with his life in elementary school which eventually he takes a social study in college. As racism and prejudice surge in the 1950s, King decides to fight for equality for everyone especially African Americans. He boycotts the bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956. After that, he does a march on Washington, D.C., and gives the exceptional speech "I Have a Dream". Later on, King writes a speech of Letter from Birmingham Jail displaying the stiff opposition from the gun lobby which was followed by the meeting with high school students. Then, the film explains how King's impact on the rights of African Americans is supported by his associates, his followers, and even people that exist today such as Carmelo Anthony, the NBA All-star, and Jesse Jackson. In the end, Martin Luther King's campaign has inspired many people up to these days to fight and give an action against inequality and opposition towards African Americans[3].

Black Empowerment

King is probably one of the most profound civil activists of African Americans. In one of the interviews within the film, Van Jones says that King has been calling people up, meaning he does not invite people to fight racism, he also empowers and inspires people to take action in fighting racism. What he says is connected with the footage of King's campaign such as the bus boycott in Montgomery where he encourages African Americans to fight for the same rights for bus seats, but fighting without violence[4]. His campaign lives up to these days brought by lots of people who also get impacted by King's vision, as King says in his speech of I Have a Dream, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"[5].

Controversy

In several scenes, it is shown that the harassment towards African Americans remains to exist. For example, police officers beat African Americans without hesitation. Also, it is shown that the Black Lives Movement goes out of control as the officers and African Americans fight while the officers are armed and they would beat and treat them like criminals. In one scene, it is portrayed King gets threaten throughout his lifetime for fighting racism which ultimately leads to the assassination of King in 1968[6]

References