This movie consists almost entirely of documentary news footage of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s crusade for racial equality from the 1950s up to the time of his assassination in 1968. It features a wide diversity of gripping footage... interviews, sermons, marches, press conferences and speeches by Dr. King as he gradually secured basic rights and dignity for his people (and thereby for ALL people). As we sit here today, with prejudice remaining far too abundant in American society, it is nonetheless hard to believe that so much struggle and sacrifice was needed to secure what our Constitution and laws had already bestowed on all of our citizens long before Dr. King began his heroic effort.
Dr. King's inspiring oratory is a potent contrast to the hatred, bigotry and unrelenting brutality he and his followers faced time and again. Scenes of police violence and jeering white racists are sprinkled liberally throughout the film and are truly horrifying. The patience and nonviolence of the African-American protesters in the face of their oppressors is remarkable.
The film ends with Dr. King's funeral, an event that is foretold by Dr. King himself time and again in this film as he muses about the possibility of his death at the hands of his racist antagonists. In one such prophetic moment contained in the movie, Dr. King says:
"You know when I say 'Don't be afraid', you know what I really mean - don't even be afraid to die! But I submit to you tonight, no man is free if he fears death. But the minute you conquer the fear of death, at that moment, you are free. You must say, somehow, 'I don't have much money - I don't have much education - I may not able to be able to read or write - but I have the capacity to die!'"
The DVD is available from the distributor, Kino Lorber... don't even hesitate to buy it. This is a must-see film for anyone even remotely concerned about social justice or history.
