9 Titles To Stream On MLK Day

Photo Credit: Bettmann / Contributor Getty Images By Keyaira Boone ·Updated January 17, 2022

The life, work, and death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired countless documentaries, podcasts, films, and books.

Artists like Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo, Lee Daniels, Nelsan Ellis, Paul Winfield, Samuel L. Jackson, LeVar Burton, Jeffrey Wright and Courtney B. Vance have worked to keep King’s memory alive in the media through strong performances, award-winning miniseries, and celebrated movies.

While researchers have made efforts to ensure that the nuances in his messages are not lost on the public who were taught more about the legend than the man who inspired it.

See 9 titles you can currently that will teach you more about King and the country that filled him with the insatiable desire to serve below.

01The “I Have A Dream” SpeechMartin Luther King, Jr. delivers a speech to a crowd of approximately 7,000 people on May 17, 1967 at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Stream Here 02MLK The Assassination TapesRecently discovered footage is reassembled to piece together the events that led to Dr. King’s shocking assassination in 1968.

Smithsonian Channel Stream Here 03King in the WildernessThis documentary explores the later years of King’s life and the criticism he faced before his legacy was sanitized.

HBO Max Stream Here 04We Are the Dream: The Kids of the Oakland MLK Oratorical FestFollow a group of children honoring King’s legacy of shifting the world through words.

HBO Max Stream Here 05Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr- An Historical PerspectiveThis documentary follow’s King’s life from his early day’s as a preacher to his rise as a civil rights leader.

IMDB TV Stream Here 06SelmaThis film is just as powerful as it was the day it was released.

Pathé; Harpo Films; Plan B Entertainment; Cloud Eight Films; Ingenious Media; Stream Here 07Selma, Lord, SelmaThis 1999 biographical drama tells the story of Bloody Sunday through the eyes of an 11-year-old Black girl played by Jurnee Smollett.

Disney Stream Here 08BET Her Presents… Becoming: Michelle Obama In ConversationBET Her is airing a special edition of Becoming: Michelle Obama where the author will share a conversation with Yara Shahidi to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr.