On this last Monday, Martin Luther King Day was celebrated in the United States. Thinking about the symbol and meaning of this fight, I selected 7 movies that deal with the theme.
Detroit
The drama takes place during the black protests over police violence and state abandonment in 1967 in Detroit. The event is considered the second biggest protest of the 1960s only losing to the assassination of Martin Luther King.
The climax of the film is the incident at the Algiers Motel, where police officers physically and psychologically tortured black men and women. In the direction, Kathryn Bigelow the same one of * The Hurt Locker *, that deals with the hunting of Osama Bin Laden.
John Krasinski, John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Tyler James Williams and others in the cast (Photos: Press Release)
Hidden Figures
Directed and written by Theodore Melfi, the film tells the story of three women who overcame race and gender bias thanks to their work at NASA. They are: Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe).
Between the 1950s and 1960s, the United States and Soviet Union were living the space race. A few steps back, the American Space Agency had the "human computers", black women who were hired to do the calculations and trajectory analyzes.
Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons and others in the cast
The Free State of Jones
During the American Civil War, the farmer Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey) forms a group of rebels against the Confederation. With the help of slaves, he fights slavery and secession. Together, they combat the racist influence of the Ku Klux Klan and form the first interracial community in the South. The direction is by Gary Ross.
Matthew McConaughey, Mahershala Ali and others in the cast
Hotel Rwanda
In 1994, about 800,000 people died in a political conflict in Rwanda. In the midst of this massacre, there is the actual story of Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle). He was able to save the lives of 1,268 people during the genocide. The film is directed by Terry George.
Don Cheadle, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Desmond Dube, Sophie Okonedo and others in the cast
Invictus
If there is one thing that can bring people together is sport. It was what Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) recently elected president did. In a racist and divided apartheid South Africa, Mandela used the Rugby World Cup, held for the first time in the country, to unite the population. The direction is of Clint Eastwood.
The cast has Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng and others
Remember the Titans
Another film that has as background the sport to unite people, in addition to the prejudices. The show comes in the 1970s, when the American population begins to be integrated. The reluctance of both groups happens. The changes come a little after a black coach starts running the American football team at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia.
Denzel Washington, Ryan Gosling and others in the cast
Malcom X
Starring Denzel Washington and directed by Spike Lee, the film follows the life of the African American activist Malcolm X. The film dramatizes important events of his life, among them the murder of his father by the Ku Klux Klan and the hospitalization of his mother. At first, a hate speech for a later reevaluation of their views.
Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett and others in the cast
Martin Luther King Day
The date is celebrated every third Monday in January and in 2018 coincides with the birth of the leader in 1929. He was murdered at age 39 and if he were alive he would make 89.
Considered the leading nonviolent advocate of racial discrimination in US law, Martin Luther King was not the first to dream or seek change, but he continued to dream of so much injustice.
"I have a dream, just a dream: keep dreaming."
"If I knew that the world would end tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today."
He never preached hatred; on the contrary all that he conquered was the basis of love. For 13 years, he traveled 9.3 million kilometers for his campaigns. He has spoken more than 2,500 times in public and been arrested on more than 20 occasions.
After 15 years of his death, President Ronald Reagan signed a law to recognize that day as a national holiday. In 2000 alone, Martin Luther King Day was officially celebrated by the 50 states of the United States. In 1964, King's message to fight racism and racial discrimination won the Nobel Peace Prize.
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