- Directed by
- McCarroll, Dan
- Subject of
- Dr. King, Martin Luther Jr., American, 1929 - 1968
- Rev. Abernathy, Ralph David, American, 1926 - 1990
- Owned by
- D.C. Public Library, American, founded 1896
- Date
- ca. 1969
- Medium
- polyester film
- Dimensions
- Duration: 22 Minutes
- Length (Film): 800 Feet
- Caption
- This film was a part of the Washington D.C. Public Library's circulating 16mm film collection housed at the Martin Luther King Jr. Central Library. The collection is particularly noted for the wide variety of African American and African diaspora content.
- Description
- A documentary short with the title Martin Luther King Jr.: From Montgomery to Memphis. It consists of a single reel of black-and-white 16mm polyester film with optical sound.
- Through archival footage, the documentary provides an overview of Dr. Martin Luther King's contributions to the civil rights movement. In the opening scene, the narrator describes Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger before cutting to archival footage of Dr. King on camera describing the Montgomery bus boycott. Some of the other events depicted include footage of the boycott, including footage of carpools and people walking, as well as commentary on Dr. King's house being bombed because of the boycott; Dr. King's arrest because of his role in the boycott; footage of Dr. King speaking at a victory meeting following the Supreme Court's ruling to desegregate the bus system in Alabama; development of the students non-violent committee; footage of his "I Have A Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial; footage of nonviolence resistance training; his work in other parts of the USA, such as Albany and Georgia; commentary on his role in the garbage collectors’ strike; footage of the Selma to Montgomery march; Dr. King's work in Northern cities such as New York and Chicago where his activism shifted to housing, employment and poverty in black communities, as well as the resultant white backlash he faced in the North; and commentary on Dr. King denouncing the Vietnam war. The final scenes include footage of Dr. King's last speech, given the night before he was assassinated, as well as footage from his funeral procession.
- Place used
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Collection title
- DC Public Library Film Collection
- Classification
- Time-based Media - Moving Images
- Movement
- Civil Rights Movement
- Topic
- Activism
- Civil rights
- Documentary films
- Film
- Men
- Police brutality
- Race riots
- Segregation
- U.S. History, 1961-1969
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2017.55.51.1a
- Restrictions & Rights
- Restrictions likely apply. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




