This MLK Day, we’ve got some great suggestions for how to celebrate the life and legacy of the great Civil Rights leader.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a time to reflect on and celebrate everything that King and the civil rights movement did to further the advancements of Black Americans. While King’s actual birthday was January 15, the holiday is celebrated annually on the third Monday of January. In honor of the holiday, we’ve put together a list of what you can do, watch, read, and listen to in order to honor the civil rights leader and the millions of people who continue to fight for equality.
What to Do:
Check out King Day: An All-Day Hybrid Celebration
In celebration of MLK Day, the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee is offering free admission and asks that visitors bring nonperishable food items to support the Mid-South Food Bank, or to donate blood to support the Vitalant blood drive. Don’t live in Tennessee? No problem — the museum will have virtual offerings as well, featuring spoken word and music performances.
Volunteer with AmeriCorps
MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, during which all Americans are asked to volunteer to improve their communities. In the spirit of Dr. King, people are asked to use the day off to help others. When this initiative was first announced in 1994, the government tasked the Corporation for National and Community Service, or AmeriCorps, to lead the volunteer effort.
We encourage you to explore their list of volunteer opportunities and choose one that’s right for you.
What to Watch:
Selma
This 2014 film was directed by Ava DuVernay and stars David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It chronicles the year 1964, in which the civil rights leader won the Nobel Peace Prize, through his march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. The peaceful march was disrupted by violent attacks from state troopers, and Americans were horrified as images from the day began to circulate.
The march and the backlash against the brute force used on protesters ultimately led to President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
BlacKkKlansman
This Spike Lee-directed action comedy tells the true story of Ron Stallworth, a Black police officer who in 1972 infiltrated the Colorado branch of the Ku Klux Klan. The story is ludicrous and marvelously entertaining, and Lee does a masterful job of lulling the viewer into laughter before pulling the rug out and exposing the very real violence and hatred at the heart of this seemingly unbelievable story.
MLK/FBI
This documentary pulls from recently declassified documents from the FBI’s dogged surveillance of Dr. King under the order of J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover, who called King “the world’s most notorious liar,” saw his power as a threat to the status quo. The documentary details Hoover’s determination to quash the growing civil rights movement by any means necessary, using tactics that are now seen as a major stain on the history and reputation of the FBI.
What to Read:
March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
This trilogy of graphic novels is an autobiographical telling of John Lewis’s experiences as a Black man living in segregated America, and his myriad contributions to the civil rights movement. The books span his childhood in rural Alabama through his work as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to his first meeting with Dr. King and their historic march on Selma.
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Published in 1963, Strength to Love is a collection of Dr. King’s sermons on racial segregation. His call for taking a nonviolent stand against oppression rings just as true today as it did when it was first published, and his courage and unshakable faith in the face of violence and bigotry will astound you.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
This young adult novel published in 2017 tells the eye-opening story of how police brutality impacts Black communities. Elaborated from a short story Thomas wrote in the aftermath of the police shooting of Oscar Grant, The Hate U Give follows a 16-year-old girl named Starr Carter whose life is turned upside down when she witnesses a police officer shoot her best friend Khalil, an unarmed Black teen.
What to Listen to:
The MLK Tapes
This true-crime podcast looks at recording and eye-witness testimony from the day that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. It delves into the idea that this was not an assassination by a lone gunman, but a plot by the government to get rid of a figure they viewed as dangerous to the status quo.
American Scandal
Episode — The Feds vs. the Activists: MLK
Like the documentary MLK/FBI, his 40-minute podcast episode delves into J. Edgar Hoover’s attempts to tarnish the reputation and dilute the power of Martin Luther King Jr, who he believed to have communist ties. The episode lays out the FBI’s tactics to spy on King, including tapping his home phone, and their attempts to blackmail him using tapes that proved he was unfaithful to his wife, Coretta.
