Selma: The Courageous March for Civil Rights - why it is still relevant today.)

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2015)

I went away from the screening feeling empowered to write an inspiring review of, "Selma." I was deeply moved by the image of marchers from diverse religions, black and white, standing together against injustice and inhumanity. These people risked their lives for the rights we enjoy today. And the themes are still so relevant in this time of racial discord and disillusionment with those in power.
Then there was the controversy around the accuracy of the film's depiction of President Lyndon Johnson as a deterrent to the march at Selma. Director Ava DuVernay explained that it was her artistic vision. She suggested that people research it for themselves. After doing my own research, I found that President Johnson's involvement was not black and white. He was first and foremost a Southern politician. I believe that, "Selma," is DuVernay's honest take on the events. Her vision is to invite the audience into the spirit of the movement from the point of view of its black protagonists. It was greater than just one man. It was a community coming together to figure out the best way to accomplish their civil rights objectives.
The movie shows how African-Americans were humiliated, threatened with losing their jobs, beaten or even killed for attempting to vote in the South. A group of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King (David Oyelowo), decide that the best course of action is to fight for the unobstructed right to vote. King meets with President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to request that he pass the Voting Rights Act. But the president's goal is to keep a handle on the civil rights movement and he is only interested in uncovering King's next course of action. He claims that there is too much on his plate, including fighting poverty, to pass a Voting Rights Act.
The activists decide to bring attention to the issue by holding a non-violent demonstration in Selma, Alabama. As the protesters kneel down before Sheriff Jim Clark, a police officer strikes an elderly man who has difficulty kneeling. When two protesters intervene to protect the man, the police respond with a vicious attack. The protesters flee, but the policemen are unrelenting in their pursuit. One young man helps his family escape into a restaurant, where they pretend to be eating. The policemen track them down and shoot the young man in cold blood. Spurred on by this tragedy, the community rallies together. They organize a non-violent march from Selma.
When the peaceful marchers reach the end of a bridge, Sheriff Jim Clark is waiting for them. He sics his armed state troopers on the marchers. The nation watches, horrified, as the marchers are savagely beaten as white citizens cheer. Martian Luther King sends out a call to his fellow clergy to stand with him as they march again. Moved by the inhumanity, they come to show their support. It is inspiring to see black and white people from all religions joining arms and standing together.
The reason I wanted to include the excerpt from his Montgomery speech is that it still rings true today. Martin Luther King educates the nation on how after the emancipation, the Southern aristocracy was afraid of the freed slaves organizing with the poor whites for better working conditions, so they passed the Jim Crow segregation laws to separate them. The inherent message was no matter how low the white man was, the blacks were lower. (Not unlike how our current politicians use undocumented immigrants as scapegoats, blaming them for causing the recession by taking the poor man's jobs.)
Witnessing the inhumane treatment of the blacks at the march in Selma created more understanding of the plight of African Americans - which allowed President Lyndon Johnson to finally pass the Voting Rights Act in 1965. I hope witnessing these events will remind us of the difficult battle that was waged to achieve these rights, so we won't allow them to be taken away.
Movie blessings! Reel Inspiration dot blogspot dot com
I will be writing about Director Ava DuVernay in an upcoming Reel Inspiration post on "Women Directors."