Here's What We're Reading, Watching, and Thinking About This Martin Luther King Jr. Day Weekend

NEW YORK (January 12, 2022) -- This Monday, CACF and our staffers will join Americans across the country in commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Day by reflecting on the late civil rights leader’s legacy and the work that still remains to this day.

Since our founding, CACF has focused on the importance of cross-racial solidarity in all that we do as we work to create a New York City that is safe and equitable for all of its residents. That’s why, in 2022, our organization became a member of the new Black and Asian Solidarity Collective, which has been hosting important and enlightening conversations about solidarity and belonging since last fall. We are also a member of the EEAP NYC Black Studies Commission, which has been working to develop a preK-12 Black Studies curriculum for NYC Schools that will acknowledge the contributions of Black Americans to our country’s history and culture.

But creating conversations around solidarity and the history of the Civil Rights movement isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve put together a list of books, films, and podcasts you can listen to this weekend that will help get these important conversations started.

To Read: 

A Sweet Smell of Roses: Throughout the 20th century, children and teens were deeply involved in civil rights marches, protests, and sit-ins. This beautiful, award-winning picture book follows two young girls as they sneak out of their houses in order to join their community members marching for freedom.

March: In this graphic memoir by the late congressman John Lewis, the civil rights leader takes readers through the preparation and organizing that went into the famous march and nonviolent resistance on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge on what would become known as "Bloody Sunday."

Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop: The young daughter of a sanitation worker seeing the impact of collective action firsthand in this stunning picture book set in Memphis in 1968 just before Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

Voices From The March on Washington: All movements are filled with ordinary people committed to creating a better world. This beautiful book imagines the lives of several Black Americans from all walks of life who traveled to join the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

To Watch:

Betty and Coretta: Starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige as Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz respectively, Betty and Coretta is a powerful look at the lives of two women who found a powerful and transformative friendship after each was left to carry on their husbands’ legacies at an incredibly young age.

I am MLK Jr: This 2018 documentary examines the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and how his work and words continue to influence the way we live today.

King in the Wilderness: In his final years, Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to racial and economic justice had only deepened.

Selma: A modern-day classic, Ava DuVernay’s Selma illustrates the long, painful struggle for the right to get Black Southerners the right to vote and the transformative Montgomery to Selma march in 1965.

To Listen:

The MLK Tapes: The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968 continues to be a horrific stain on American society. “The MLK Tapes” skillfully breaks down the plot to kill the storied civil rights leader and the search to discover who did it and why.

Teaching Hard History: Learning more about the Civil Rights Movement and the historical treatment of Black Americans in the United States can be emotional, upsetting, and eye-opening. The Teaching Hard History podcast guides listeners through topics like the legacy of Jim Crow and the battle for the right to vote in an interesting and approachable way.

Untold Stories: The Cases That Shaped The Civil Rights Movement: In Untold Stories, listeners discover more about the court cases, lawyers, and plaintiffs at the center of several often-forgotten legal decisions that shaped the Civil Rights Movement.

We hope that this list will inspire you and your families to discover more about the Civil Rights Movement and its relevance to AAPI communities today. Head here to follow CACF on Instagram for more thought-provoking content.

For more information, please contact Lakshmi Gandhi, CACF’s Senior Communications Coordinator at lgandhi@cacf.org.