It’s going to be cold out there, Beaconites. It might even be snowing! A few years ago, pre-pandemic, it was sleeting. The luck of Winter weather and disease has not been with the South Dutchess Coalition for their annual MLK Birthday Celebration and Parade, now in its 44th year. The parade and celebration that is usually inside of the Springfield Baptist Church is canceled this year, but your Dr. Martin Luther King education and inspiration continues!

A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Brandon Lillard, a founding member of I Am Beacon and my (Katie’s) co-host at ALBB’s sister podcast, “Wait, What Is That?” While Brandon is eagerly awaiting the birth of their 2nd child, he sent over his movie recommendations for your movie marathon long weekend.

Do read this article at the History Channel that covers the oppression of African American people’s right to vote, and the battle to throw that burden and gaslighting off via the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Voting Rights Act of 1965. According to the article: “After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on “race, color or previous condition of servitude.” Nevertheless, in the ensuing decades, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans, particularly those in the South, from exercising their right to vote.”

This suppression included presenting a Black voter with a literacy test, or requirement to recite parts of legislation.

Here are Brandon’s recommendations:

Selma (2014)

From Parade Magazine’s recommendation of this movie: “Ava Duvernay’s Selma was a huge success and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, amongst many others. The historical drama centers on King Jr. as a key figure, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the fight for suffrage, the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But most prominently, Selma chronicles the history-altering march that was led by King.”

King In The Wilderness (2018)

From HBO: “King in the Wilderness chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. While the Black Power movement saw his nonviolence as weakness, and President Lyndon B. Johnson saw his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible, Dr. King’s unyielding belief in peaceful protest became a testing point for a nation on the brink of chaos.

“Dr. King’s leadership during the bus boycotts, the sit-ins and the historic Selma to Montgomery marches is now legendary, but much of what happened afterward – during the last three years of his life – is rarely discussed. It’s a time when Dr. King said his dream “turned into a nightmare.” From the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, King remained unshakably committed to nonviolence in the face of an increasingly unstable country.

“The documentary debuted at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and is directed by Peter Kunhardt (HBO’s Emmy-winning Jim: The James Foley Story). Drawing on conversations with those who knew Dr. King well, including many fellow members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), King in the Wilderness reveals stirring new perspectives on Dr. King’s character, his radical doctrine of nonviolence and his internal philosophical struggles prior to his assassination in 1968. The documentary also features archival footage, behind-the-scenes video of Dr. King’s private moments, intimate archival photographs and phone conversations recorded by President Johnson, who was both ally and adversary in King’s fight for civil rights.”

The Boy King (1986)

From Parade Magazine’s recommendation of this movie: “Directed by Billy J. Parrot, The Boy King highlights a part of King’s life that is rarely showcased: his childhood. This drama shares some of the early forms of discrimination that King encountered and how it shaped him for his future. It shows how the loving and nurturing home environment that he was cultivated in shaped his ideologies.”

Not sure how to watch this one at moment. Will inquire with library.

Katie is curious about:

Betty and Coretta (2013)

From Parade Magazine’s recommendation of this movie: “While we often see the men of the Civil Rights era highlighted, under the direction of Yves Simoneau, Betty and Coretta provides a depiction of the friendship between Coretta Scott King and Dr. Betty Shabazz (married to Malcom X) that developed after their husbands were assassinated. Starring Angela Bassett and Mary J. Blige as Scott King and Shabazz, respectively, this television movie showcases the inner strength and dignity of the women who were right there alongside their husbands in their fight for equality and civil rights in the Civil rights era. This movie is a tribute to these two beautiful and intelligent women, and how they continued to raise their families and fight for activism after their husband’s deaths.”

Watch it with the Lifetime Movie Club.

Podcasts

MINORITY KORNER
So good! A must-listen to stay up to date on many cultural corners from different perspectives. Description of the show, by the show: “Are you easily confused by terms like cultural appropriation, cisgender, toxic masculinity, twunk, queer, black girl magic, and woke? Or maybe you’re tired of explaining terms like these and you need a community that gets you! Welcome to Minority Korner, where we take an introspective look at the world. through an intersectional lens. Join James: a queer, political, comedian, self proclaimed, sexy blerd (that’s Black Nerd) and each week he’s joined in the Korner by another fabulous minority tackling pop culture, the news, media, and history all with a little self care, and self love sprinkled throughout! It’s time to Learn, Laugh, and Play, right here at Minority Korner- because together: we’re the majority!”
Listen Now >

BLACK GIRL NERDS
From movies to comics to authors to finance, Black Girl Nerds is a refreshing and energetic listen that you need in your week. From the show: “Black Girl Nerds is an online publication and multimedia space that is the intersection of geek culture and Black feminism.  I named this site Black Girl Nerds because the concept of Black women as geeky-dorky beings is somewhat of an anomaly.  It’s against the order of things in the “Black Girl” world.  We represent a wide array of diverse women who embrace all cultures and refuse to conform to the status quo.

“This community does not have an exclusionary purpose.  The term “Black Girl Nerd” is not intended to be derogatory nor is it racially biased.  It is a term of endearment to all women like me who have been attached to a stigma that is not an accurate representation of my personality or my idiosyncratic behaviors. This is a website for every nerdy girl that can finally come out of the closet and tell the world that they are PROUD to be who they are—no matter what anyone says, does, or think.”

Listen Now >

Local Instagram Accounts To Follow And Read

Plenty of enriching Instagram accounts are at your fingertips to tap and read. Start with a few of these:

@YellowSwagger: Justice McCray, founding member of Beacon4Black Lives, Desmond-Fish Library employee, past Beacon Library Employee, and current Beacon City Council Member. “Fight for justice, even when it doesn’t serve you. Believe in love that is out of anyone’s control. And then risk everything for it.”

@AliTawfiqMuhammad: Ali Tawfiq Muhammad, past Beacon City Council Member, current resident of Newburgh. Organizer of several initiatives involving politics and youth. Co-Organizer of the march to Free Palestine in Newburgh. “Advocating for community development (CHANGE) through civic engagement since 2003 - I am a champion for human rights, serving differently on purpose.

@BLMHudsonValley: Posting news and quotes to motivate, change and grow minds.

@Beacon4BlackLives: A major change-making group that started in Beacon during the Black lives movement that started in 2020. Organizers of several marches down Main Street and open-mic story sharing sessions, which resulted in several stories being shared by Black neighbors who emerged as leaders, and even a white Beacon police officer. “B4BL is a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting violence & systemic racism against Black people in our community.”

@ToMyOldRacistEarth: Moraya Seeger DeGeare, a certified couples therapist utilizing Emotionally Focused Therapy. Moraya is a grandaughter of Pete and Toshi Seeger. Pete partnered with the Southern Dutchess Coalition to begin the MLK Parade in Beacon. “It’s time we TALK about systemic issues with our kids & create ART as we do.”