The 2015 awards season has arrived in full swing. Several television and film awards shows are taking place in January and February, with the Academy Awards airing on February 22nd. One of the most prominent movies being talked about is Selma, director Ava DuVernay’s movie focusing on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the fight to secure voting rights for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.
The film takes place in 1965, and is largely set in Selma, Alabama, a town where arguably one of the most courageous and hardest things a black person could do was register to vote. The film opens with a scene featuring Oprah Winfrey as Annie Lee Cooper, an African American woman seen filling out the paperwork required to register. When she walks up to a clerk and hands him the form, he looks her in the eye and commands her to recite the preface of the United States Constitution. Then to state how many judges there are in the courts in the area.
Then to name them.
This is just one of the many methods used to prevent African Americans from voting during this time period. There were also poll taxes and literacy tests. In some areas, a black person would have their name and address published in the paper if they registered. In 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to Selma to protest in favor of legislation to outlaw these practices, and to grant African Americans the right to vote.
The film follows Dr. King and his fellow leaders of the Civil Rights Movement as they travel to Selma and begin to work with the community, staging marches and raising awareness. It also portrays Dr. King’s activism in Washington, D.C., as he met with President Lyndon B. Johnson to argue for immediate legislation regarding voting rights.
It’s very clear why Selma has been generating so much buzz. DuVernay’s film is both eye-opening and brutal, showing the protests and the violent response from the police and government in all their cruelty. She also shows aspects of the Civil Rights Movement that weren’t quite as visible, such as the organizing done by Dr. King and his colleagues, and the private life of Dr. King himself. It all adds up to a movie that is very, very hard to forget.
David Oyelowo’s portrayal of Dr. King is one aspect of the film that struck me the most. He displays a wide range of emotions with dedication and talent, fully giving himself to the role. His renditions of King’s speeches were some of my favorite moments of the film, and the sight of him yelling from a pulpit in front of Governor George Wallace’s mansion is one of the most memorable.
Many of the other actors’ performances were similarly striking. Carmen Ejogo is wonderful as King’s wife, Coretta, and Tom Wilkinson plays President Johnson with considerable talent. There have been accusations that the portrayal of Johnson is historically inaccurate, but Selma remains both impressive and noteworthy.
Selma is by no means an easy film to watch. It is tough, especially during scenes such as the “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, when state troopers assaulted protestors with tear gas and billy clubs. But Selma is also important, especially in light of the murders of African Americans by police that have taken place in the past year. It shows the struggles and activism of those who made voting rights for African Americans possible, in a time when issues of racism and inequality are still relevant. “Black lives matter” is a cry that is spreading across the country. It’s not so different from the message Dr. King was trying to spread himself.
For some Selma-related reading, here are a few books about the Civil Rights Movement that I love:
March: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Congressman John Lewis is one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, and his autobiographical account of how he got involved in the fight to achieve equal rights is both interesting and gripping. Nate Powell’s dramatic black and white illustrations only add to this graphic memoir’s appeal, and all in all it’s a wonderful book that I’d recommend to anyone.
I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with paintings by Kadir Nelson
I Have a Dream consists of some of the most memorable words from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, accompanied by paintings by illustrator Kadir Nelson. Nelson’s paintings are rich and gorgeous, bursting with color and light in a way that complements Dr. King’s words perfectly, including the text of the speech in its entirety in the back. It’s a beautiful tribute to Dr. King and what he fought for.
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Lies We Tell Ourselves is the debut novel of author Robin Talley, and focuses on two young girls living in Virginia in 1959. Sarah Dunbar is one of several African American students integrating the local high school, whereas Linda Hairston is the daughter of the one of the town’s most vocal segregationists. As the girls work together on a school project, they find themselves developing feelings they never wanted to have, and Linda begins to question her views more and more. Talley’s book portrays the struggles and dangers of the Civil Rights Movement without hesitation, and shows just how difficult (but necessary) it was to challenge the way things were. It’s incredibly hard to put down.
