Martin Luther King Jr. Day coverage

The History Channel covered Martin Luther King Jr. day by having a few shows on King and his life. The time line showed how he became involved in the movement and what he did to help day in and day out.

The special called “King” was shown twice on his holiday, early morning and in the afternoon. The tone of the coverage exemplified King as a leader, preacher, dreamer and revolutionary man. A very positive tone was set early on in the program showing a time line of his life and how he began his roll in the civil rights movement.

The positive program outlined King as an amazing figure in history showed not only the known battles and struggles that the Civil Right Movement endured but how King fell into the role as leader and how it took a toll on his life. As King fell into a leadership role early in the movement it was his religious belief that led him to take on the responsibility. But the struggles between his cause and his family became a burden. He had a wife and four children at home who waited on him while he was on the road. The pains he went through to be away from his family coincided with the cause he was working so hard to bring change to.

The footage used for the program included not only pictures of King at work and with family, but news footage of riots and marches. The images captured the struggle of the time and how police and media treated those involved with the movement. From fire departments spraying hoses on young black people to funerals of those who perished in the fight the pictures told a story.

I don’t think the program was editorialized because different views on the Civil Rights Movement and King’s actions were given by a number of people who went through this time. Including the thoughts of Condolisa Rice who was just a little girl in the movement to friends and colleagues of King. The information seemed to give King favor in his actions but also tried to uncover some of the behind the scene aspects of his life. The testimonials from his close friends and family made his life and his actions speak louder than if someone who was unrelated to the movement of the time had spoken out. Rice spoke of the Birmingham bombing that killed little girls that were in her kindergarten class, and how King came to give the eulogy which was a first hand experience that made history come to life.

Events of all kinds were covered including, the non-violent bus boycott, the sit-in movement, the Freedom Riders and their journey, the rally and march in Washington, his opposition of Vietnam, his work in Birmingham, the Freedom Summer, Chicago Riots and the Poor People Campaign. All the events covered were not only explained in detail but the media coverage or in some cases the lack of media has been mentioned in most events. In each event mentioned it was amazing how many people came out to support the movement. The college students of the time were very involved and had sit-ins and marches of their own, causing a stir because not only was it the young black college students but the white college students from all over the country who would come and volunteer.

Before his death the more traditional news coverage showed him as stirring up trouble and always being arrested and never highlighting his achievements. While the more black based coverage showed him as a leader and a revolutionary. After his death all media tells the story of a great leader who changed our nation and his powerful words ring throughout our history, but they don’t however talk about how the struggle for equality and the expulsion of racism is not yet over.