What to watch and stream in honor of MLK Day 2024
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is here.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent his life fighting for civil rights and racial justice. There are a wide range of movies and specials about King himself airing on television to help celebrate his vision — and even more programs that relate to themes in his work.
Here’s what to watch and stream on MLK Day.
“Selma”
This 2014 Oscar-nominated movie directed by Ava DuVernay follows Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) during the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights marches. The cast is rounded out by Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper, Stephan James as John Lewis and Wendell Pierce as Hosea Williams.
Where to watch: Paramount+, Prime Video
“Do the Right Thing”
This 1989 Spike Lee modern classic isn’t about MLK, but it is about racial tension in a Brooklyn neighborhood, which connects to his work. Lee and Samuel L. Jackson star alongside Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez.
Where to watch: Peacock
“All The Way”
A 2016 biographical drama that follows Lydon B. Johnson (Bryan Cranston); while the movie centers around his presidency as a whole, a major part of it focuses on LBJ working on the Voting Rights Act with Martin Luther King Jr. (Anthony Mackie).
Where to watch: Max
“Where Was I”
Trevor Noah’s new Netflix comedy special follows the former “The Daily Show” host as he riffs on America’s place in the world, race and related topics.
Where to watch: Netflix
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves“
This historical miniseries produced by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan follows Bass Reeves (David Oyelowo), the first African American deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi River. Co-starring Dennis Quaid and Donald Sutherland.
Where to watch: Paramount+
“Kindred”
An underrated historical sci-fi drama that arrived in 2022. Based on the Octavia Butler book of the same name, the plot follows Dana (Mallori Johnson), a young black woman living in the modern day, who is in an interracial relationship with Kevin (Micah Stock). Somehow, she ends up traveling back in time to the past, to a 19th century plantation in Maryland.
Where to watch: Hulu
“Loving”
This 2016 movie is about Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Ruth Negga), the plaintiffs in the 1967 Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, which overturned laws prohibiting interracial marriage.
Where to watch: Prime Video
“Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America”
A one-hour documentary that covers the key moments and battles in the Civil Rights Movement —including the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Where to watch: 11 a.m. on the History Channel
“MLK / FBI”
A 2020 documentary that follows the contentious relationship between King and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, including Hoover and the FBI’s attempts to discredit King, using his infidelity against him. It includes newly declassified documents, but does not cover anything new about his assassination.
Where to watch: AMC+, Hulu, Prime Video
“Boycott”
Jeffrey Wright, who is currently generating buzz for “American Fiction,” stars in this 2001 movie as Martin Luther King Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56. Terrence Howard and CCH Pounder co-star.
Where to watch: Max
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